Anonymous Trackers
by PrennCooder
Summary: COMPLETE! Mainly DxV. What happened after Phantom Planet? This is my interpretation of the continuation of Danny Phantom. Lots of action, suspense, and character development. Danny's the big hero now, and he's got a duty to the town to keep it safe from evil ghosts, but he is being hunted as well, and the GIW have a secret weapon.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: Hey everyone! Prenn here! This story is going to be a novel and it already is because it was actually my FIRST Danny Phantom fanfic ever and first in the timeline of every story that I'll be posting to . I was fifteen when I wrote it. It's currently being edited right now but I decided to edit the first chapter today granted cuz my other stories here are such a huge success. And that's all thanks to you guys!**

**Anyways, so this is Post-Phantom Planet, and takes place right after the show ends. The original story was meant to only be 10k but it flowed into several novels which I am grateful for.**

**PAIRINGS: DannyxValerie, KwanxStar, DashxPaulina, DannyxPaulina (hints only), DannyxCecelia (slight hints), TuckerxSam (slight hints)**

**So, that said, please review!**

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**Chapter 1**

He was fifteen. It was summer. It was a warm day.

Danny Fenton, that is. He and his friends were freshmen in high school. His birthday in April had just passed like a month or two ago. Danny wasn't an ordinary teenager at all, despite his standard looks. With raven black hair and sky blue eyes, average clothes and an average face, nothing set Danny apart from the rest of the world visibly. But underneath all of that, it had been a long time since Danny felt normal. Danny knew he was different. He was special.

He was…half ghost. A halfa. Something unique. Hunters preyed on him. Villains attacked him. Freshman year had officially ended yet but still Danny felt like he had aged a few _years_ since he had obtained his powers by means of an accident with a portal just a little over one year ago. A portal that his own _parents_ created.

Danny's parents, Jack and Maddie, were ghost hunters, and very incompetent ones at that. Danny had an older sister as well and her name was Jasmine, "Jazz" for short. She was a brainiac and wanted nothing to do with her parents' folly. But she did know of her brother's half ghost secret. Danny Fenton's counterpart was Danny Phantom, a charming ghost boy with snow white hair and glowing green eyes.

Danny Phantom…was a superhero.

Danny had just saved the world from a disaster through means of his ghost form. It was his idea that had saved the planet. So now, Danny and his friends Tucker, Sam, and Jazz….let's just say that they were going to be big heroes now to both the human world and the ghost world. Because all ghosts knew that their zone is the flip side of the human world, like a reflection.

The human world was about to be shattered into space dust by the impending Disasteroid when Danny had the idea to turn the earth intangible so the asteroid would just pass through harmlessly. But, that took a lot of power. It also took the help of a gazillion ghosts. It took almost all of the ghosts in the ghost zone—Danny's enemies, friends, allies, everybody. They, together with the humans, teamed up to save the world. And the mission was a success. Everything went great. There was no longer a need for worldwide panic and confusion.

So naturally, the world wanted to thank Danny and his team of friends with a big ostentatious ceremony. Danny ended up not attending it even though it was only happening because of him. He wanted to attend it, though being caught up in the moment, he had another idea. He had originally planned to make it back there in time for it, but that didn't look like it was how it was going to work out.

In a rush of a flurry of hormones and adrenaline, Danny had a super crazy idea. He knew his friend Sam Manson had a crush on him forever and the big hero always needed a girlfriend, right? He had a crush on another girl who didn't seem to be interested in him back, so he decided to give Sam a shot. He was going to ask her to become his girlfriend.

It didn't take long for Danny to locate Sam from the sky and land beside her. He took her by her hand and flew the two of them on top of a big hill to watch the sun set. The ceremony was going on and everybody was too caught up in that to even care where the actual heroes were. As always, Danny was lost in the shuffle. But he didn't care.

Danny pulled out his dad's old class ring from his pocket and gave it to Sam. She started welling up and she hugged him. Things felt right now that Danny was finally going to get a girlfriend. He had dated someone before, named Valerie, and she was his first girlfriend. But things had ended badly with her, though neither Danny nor Valerie would ever admit it to each other. They had wanted to get back together too, but things just didn't work out.

Danny was looking for newer, happier memories instead of just reliving the old ones in his head. He wanted a girl to hold, even if it was Sam, who wasn't exactly his type. But she loved him, and knew him, so he was hoping things would go smother with her than with Valerie. Sam had this huge crush on him so she'd want him no matter what. He wasn't surprised when she accepted him asking her out officially. They embraced and they kissed.

Danny felt like a different person. All the noise coming from the ceremony and now staring at Sam who was his girlfriend made him feel very strange. _Go with what feels good, right?_ Danny asked himself. People at school had wanted them to get together for a while. People even began to assume they were together already.

After the third or fourth kiss, the adrenaline started to fade and Danny began to have second thoughts of what he was doing. He wondered how long they would last. But he was used to playing things by ear. Besides, Danny figured Sam would be the kind of person to stay good friends with him even if the two of them had broken up. So Danny was cool, no matter what! That's what he was thinking, at least. He just wanted to see where time would take them.

As the two of them sat there up on that hill, they discussed freshman year's ending and what changes might happen in sophomore year. Danny knew in his heart that he had wanted to attend his ceremony. He didn't want to tell Sam because he thought it might spoil the moment. And he didn't want to leave either, because that would be incredibly rude.

Right there was the moment when Danny started keeping secrets. Foolishly, he thought he could just shrug it off, go with the flow, be carefree, right? But oh, how wrong he was! Ah yes, back to the moment. It seemed to be so perfect. How far could hormones influence the mind? That was all it was, really…_hormones_. Isn't that all love ever is? Sometimes, in some teenagers. But others could get lucky. Danny wished he could be lucky one day. Besides, Danny's best friend Tucker could always tell him and Sam the ceremony details later.

Sam gazed into the ghostly green eyes of Danny Phantom. He knew that she wasn't the one he'd end up with forever—he wasn't in love with her, she was a girl and she was very much available. Right now, Danny was going to have his first real date with this girl. It was about time that he gave her a chance.

Sam had been waiting patiently ever since they were kids, and now was the time to give in and take a leap of faith and hope this could be a success. He'd go from there and then decide if they should go on another date or not. He picked her up, and they flew off dramatically into the night to get away from the commotion and fireworks. But what next?

As he was flying, Danny felt like he was on top of the world. Down below were the people waving at the Phantom hero and thanking him. He smiled back. All this new attention he'd be getting might have felt a little awkward, but he wouldn't ever regret doing what he did. He had saved the _world_.

And there was no way that he'd ever let the attention go to his head. That would spoil all the fun of being a teenage boy! On their first date the next pleasant summer day, Sam admired the statue of Danny Phantom that was being constructed in the center of Amity Park Square as they passed it while walking. He took her for a flight as well too.

After a while of skimming the clouds, the pair of them sat down by the monumental caption of Danny. By that time, the crowd had left and the ceremony was over. Dusk was all around them—Sam's favorite time of day. A shroud of mist laced across the image of the moon.

"So, what are you going to do now? You seem to keep a firm mind about everything these days." Sam noted. "Sophomore year seems like it's gonna be very different for us."

"Well, um, of course I'll need the help of you, Jazz, and Tucker. I could never imagine fighting ghosts without you guys." Danny sighed. "In a few days, I'll be going to talk to the President."

"Wow! That's great."

"I can see you're not totally thrilled. You can't hide these things from me, you know. You're goth, so you're rarely that happy. I know you're happy for me, but I also know you want me to stay. How long have you liked me anyways?"

"Since you were the first person to treat me normal even though I dressed like a goth. And then you, me and Tucker became the best of friends." Sam blushed through her sorry attempt of keeping her stoic expression. "I don't want you to go." Sam said softly.

There was a moment of silence, there, as the new couple watched the sun set finalize. A pair of birds flew overhead. The scenery was peaceful. Relaxed. The opposite of rushing. Danny didn't like to rush into things. He was too easygoing. He wasn't afraid of toil or loss. He wasn't even afraid of the bad guys anymore. What he feared for real was losing the people that were closest to him, like Tucker, Sam, Valerie, Jazz, and the rest of his friends and family.

"I don't want to turn into a girl who nags you to go in the direction I want you to. What I want is for you to make your own decisions." Sam looked at the ghost boy. He seemed distant, pensive, and his heart was probably racing faster than he could run. "Danny…?"

"I feel like if I don't go, I'll be missing out on a great opportunity." He said quickly. "I can't let anyone down, see?"

Sam nodded in agreement. "I see your point."

"I'm going to go." He looked her straight in her purple eyes. "…But I'll be back. I'll be exactly the same as I was before I left. I promise. Don't go anywhere, don't change, and don't wait for me if you don't want to. Do what you want." The moon seemed to look away disapprovingly while he kissed her. It was so awkward, kissing Sam who had been 'just a friend' for so long. Maybe that awkwardness would go away some day.

Maybe it wouldn't.

It was midsummer now. And it was a shock to everybody that this heroic ghost teen Danny Fenton was also half-ghost, better known as a halfa, by his former secret identity Danny Phantom. The world didn't know what to make of him, but they accepted him nonetheless. Now that the world knew his secret and was not attacking him for hit, his life had changed for the better. _Or so it seemed_…

There had been a _lot_ of changes in Amity Park Colorado as well. Like Dash Baxter had thought Danny was cool now because he was a superhero. Dash apologized for all the times he had bullied Danny and even offered him a seat at the A-Lister table in school if he wanted it. Danny was hesitant to accept at first but he eventually realized Dash was sincere, and was starting to mature and change for the better. Maybe there was hope for a friendship yet.

Since the incident with the Disasteroid, Danny and his clone younger than him by two years had reunited joyously. Dani Phantom was alike Danny in every way except for being a girl and younger of course. She was a halfa too, but she kept this secret to herself. The only people who knew her secret were Danny, Tucker, Sam, and her creator who was Danny's arch rival—Vlad Masters.

Since Dani had returned, she went by Danielle now and she was getting bored of living on her own and wanted to be part of Danny's family. So making use of overshadowing, Danny helped Jack and Maddie agree to adopt Danielle as their child. They started homeschooling her because she was a clone and didn't know all the basic school lessons.

After having seen many families around, she wanted to grow up like a normal teenage girl now that she was thirteen, and had been fostering a love for music. She didn't give people too much detail on her backstory because she didn't want a lot of questions asked. She didn't want the world to know of her secret identity even though Danny had revealed his.

Though she could have sworn he was starting to regret having done that now, that was just a theory at the moment. Danielle was a quick learner and she thought she would be able to start high school as a freshman during Danny's junior year. She was far from being ready for it yet and had a lot of catching up to do! But, she had this whole summer and then the school year and the summer to follow that.

After Valerie had seen that Danny Fenton and Danny Phantom are one and the same, she didn't like it. She remembered some of the things that he did and put all the pieces together to realize that he was only ever a good guy. And she felt guilty for all the times she'd tried to hunt him down and blast him to bits. But she never told him how she felt about that because now he was dating one of his best friends, Sam. Valerie felt like she didn't have a chance at him now. She felt like a mess…and that her love life was hopeless.

Danny had been dating Sam ever since that one day at sunset during Danny's hero ceremony. He had given her his dad's class ring and then carried her off into the setting sun. After that, they sat on top of a building and held hands while they talked about the future.

"I'll be on the news for interviews this next week." Danny said.

"I'll be watching." She said with an eager smile.

"And Oprah wanted me on her show too. And I haven't gotten a chance to check my email inbox but I'm sure it's full. I'll have to get a new one that's more private. And my dad wants me to be his ghost-fighting sidekick, which is a thought I'd appreciate but I won't have time for. And then I'll have to start looking for a part-time to pay for Astronaut College because I really want to go. I feel like I'm rushing, but hey, that's life…"

"Sounds like you've really got a lot on your plate right now." She looked down and let her dangling feet swoosh back and forth in the wind.

As the air brushed by her black combat boots, it made a strange sound. Danny floated over head to survey the city like he did almost every night. Earlier this night, he had saved this world. So he might as well take the time to get to know it.

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**Soooo whatcha think? Good for my first fic?**


	2. Chapter 2

****THANK YOU FOR ALL THE KIND REVIEWS! :D Enjoy this next chapter and more are soon to come!****

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**Chapter 2**

"Yes, but I'm glad I've got you, Tucker, Jazz and now Danielle to help me. But Jazz will be focusing on her grades a lot this school year so she can get accepted at the college she wants. I know, when is she ever not focusing on grades? But yeah bottom line is I'm not going to pressure her into helping us catch ghosts a lot now that we have Danielle on the team."

"That's…so sweet of you. You're always thinking about everyone else except yourself."

"So what will _you_ be doing this summer?"

"Oh, ya know, just standing out I guess. I'll be supporting you every step of the way."

"That's what I'm counting on."

And that summer was the busiest summer Danny had ever had. Suddenly famous people emailed Danny or even called him on the phone. A news anchorman gave him the bribe of a fancy sports car to be on his show. But Danny turned him down.

Danny found himself wide-awake one night wishing that all of this had never happened. Then he was shocked by that feeling but what was a guy to do? He regretted it all…and didn't feel like himself. Sometimes he wished life had an undo button. He was one of the most famous people in the world now. _Nothing_ could change that, he thought glumly. He wanted his old life back. He didn't think his life was meant to be like this—with fans watching his every move. And he thought about Vlad, too.

Vlad had always been Danny's bitter arch enemy. And Danny knew Vlad was still trapped in space somewhere. So why hadn't he come back? Was his anger only back-building every day, and going to explode some time unexpected? The world knew Vlad's secret too and after he had foolishly revealed it he went bankrupt because companies were ashamed to sponsor such a person now.

Danny couldn't stand not-knowing what was happening out there. Vlad could be stalking him in secret or even worse—plotting revenge! This bothered Danny almost as much as feeling like he wasn't even living his own life anymore. Come to think of it, he hadn't felt like himself since long before the Disasteroid. He couldn't even remember what his normal life felt like anymore and that saddened him.

Additionally, Sam was constantly worrying about him. He worried too, but her worry only made him worry more. Tucker kept trying to keep things positive, but Danny could tell he was starting to have a hard time doing that. Danny kept his true feelings on the situation to himself. He didn't want to burden his older sister with anything since she was stressed with two summer jobs anyways and Danielle had years of schoolwork to catch up on.

Besides Danny would never forgive himself if he spoiled Danielle's innocence—childlike innocence, by the way, that Danielle deserved to have because she had been cheated out of a childhood by being created from lab goo instead of being born. Danny was afraid that one day he'd let it all go to his head. And then he wouldn't be himself anymore. _This had to stop._ And there was only one person who could help Danny in the entire known world.

Danny would have searched the world if he could but he knew exactly where to go. His parents had thankfully accepted him for who he was and he was grateful for the time that he had to be real to them. They had finally gotten the chance to know the other half of the person he really was but now that might all change if things succeeded the way Danny wanted them to. Danny found himself flying through his parents' portal en route to the only hope for getting his old life back: _Clockwork_.

"I still don't understand _why_ you want me to do this…" The calm voice of an icy blue-skinned ghost with red eyes and a purple hood crossed his arms and stared back the ghostly teenager with snow white hair and glowing green eyes as he entered his realm.

"My life is _not_ supposed to be this way. I think I may have made a huge mistake."

"In being selfish? Indeed." Clockwork turned away to work on some things with his staff.

Danny sighed and held in a remark that might have come off sounding rude if he said it. But he had to remember his position, his place. Clockwork was one of the most powerful ghosts in the ghost zone of not THE most powerful. "I'm sorry if I sound selfish. But my life has impacted so many others already."

"If you think the world owes you something, it is very foolish to have that view. That view is the beginnings of the alternate future I showed you once."

Danny paced in the air. "At first, it was cool and all, but I can't go on like this. It's not right! I don't even know who I am anymore don't you remember back before the world knew my secret and everything was all simpatico? Simple and easy, but I still did my job? I just want my old life back. I want to be me again." The ghost boy looked down at the ground he was floating above. "Think of how many other futures could change for the better also. Please, Clockwork, consider it. _Try_ to understand…I want you to give me a chance. Make it so the world never learned my secret."

"And what makes you think it is in my power to do that?"

The blue-skinned ghost paced. He stroked his long white beard as he remained pensive on the matter. His pacing ceased in front of a large circular screen. On the screen was a portal to a place called Amity Park. The portal was invisible on the other side. "Danny, the world needs you." Clockwork mentioned rationally. "Without you, there would be great disasters in both our worlds. You help keep the balance between good and evil."

"But I can _still_ be there for it. And I always have, ever since I got my powers. I know I've screwed up, but the thing is, I always come back. But revealing my secret? It was the worst mistake of my life…And it's something only you can undo. Won't you help me?" Danny pleaded. His future was at the mercy of a ghost he barely even knew.

But oh, Clockwork knew Danny well. Clockwork had known Danny was destined for greatness ever since he was a child. Danny was born to be one of the greatest heroes of the modern day. As Clockwork and Danny continued to debate various points of the conversation, Clockwork kept thinking back to one point in particular.

Danny did all these favors for others, and yet he did not usually ask for anything in return. Somewhere in Clockwork's heart, he felt like he owed it to the boy without realizing it completely. Danny continued to ramble on and on about how his life and the lives of those around him were much better before he shared his secret with the world.

The blue ghost sighed. "Allright. I'll do it."

Danny stopped mid-sentence as his eyes widened. A jolt of happiness shot through him as he gasped. "Clockwork! Really? Thank you!" He grinned ear to ear as he tried to give Clockwork a hug. Clockwork phased out and reappeared a few feet away from Danny.

"Don't push your limits. I'll make it so that nobody in the human world remembers you and Danny Fenton are one and the same. None of the humans will remember except for you and your friends Tucker and Sam, who have helped you since the beginning. The ghosts will all know, still, as all ghosts are immune to the power I will use to erase this memory."

"Thank you. Thank you very much, Clockwork!" Danny said, gratefully smiling. It took him a moment to realize that meant Vlad would still know his secret, and Danielle too, since they were also halfas. "Wait, and Jazz?"

Clockwork sighed. "You want your sister to know?"

"Yeah! For sure! I know her nosiness can get on my nerves at times, but she's my sister…and part of the team." Danny had his fingers crossed behind his back. This was a huge favor already, so Danny hoped he hadn't asked too much.

"Alright. Your sister can know." Clockwork agreed reluctantly. The ghost of time picked up his staff and tapped the portal to Amity Park. "But this will have great consequences. Your future will be changed. Whether it's for better or worse is all up to you."

"You don't know how much this means to me!" Danny said as he was about to fly through the portal back to the human world. "I'll finally get to go back to the way my life used to be. I'll get to be a normal sophomore! Wow, I never thought I'd be so happy to be just another kid again!"

"You'll never be normal." Clockwork reminded him.

"Normal for _me_, I suppose." Danny sighed, still smiling. "I'm so grateful, I don't even…I don't even know where to start! I never thought you'd cave, but I'm ever so happy that you did!"

"You can repay me by continuing to do what you're doing and getting better and better at it. People count on you every day. Your work is never done, as is mine." Clockwork said.

Danny nodded. "I promise. You can count on me."

Clockwork raised his time staff as a light blue power beam shot out at high speed in the direction of the human realm. Its energy would then spread all over and erase the memory that anyone had about Danny revealing who he was. As for the recordings and broadcasts, the tapes were erased and the revelations bleeped out. No longer did a record exist of Danny Phantom's true identity, except in the memories of Tucker, Sam, Jazz, and anyone who had ghost in them.

Danny was about to head off to go enjoy the world as he remembered it from a year ago. But then, Clockwork had one last thing to say. "_Wait_!" Clockwork commanded. Danny stopped short before returning to his home. "I assume you understand that what I've just done will change things you might not even think about. You've actually put yourself in more danger than you were before when the world knew your secret. Keep that in mind. It's not time for joyriding."

"Yeah, yeah, I know altering anything will change the future, but who's to say I can't make this a better future than the one I would have had if the world knew my secret?" Danny smiled proudly.

Clockwork waved him on to his home and Danny went through the portal. As soon as Danny was gone, Clockwork pondered on his decision on how it would affect the future. "…_Or a worse one_." He said to himself, completing Danny's thought.

Danny soared through human skies with glee as a pleasant breeze blew around Amity Park at sunset. He transformed behind a dumpster in an alley and emerged as his human self. Still smiling, he happily trotted down the street and picked up a Nasty Burger meal to go. Several times, Danny almost flinched when people walked too close to him, as he was used to being crowded—and sometimes clobbered—by fans and haters whenever he was out.

Danny was in no rush as he texted Tucker and Sam asking them to meet him at his house to discuss the big change. Danny announced to his parents that he was home as he walked through the front door. His thoughts on them were bittersweet—they were back to only knowing half of who he was, but it was better this way. He had to keep telling himself that.

Danny had been dreaming of going back to this life for so long and it was too late to start having second thoughts. He pulled Jazz aside and explained to her everything that had happened with Clockwork which she understood was a good decision. He sat there at the table and ate his Nasty Burger as his parents worked in the basement.

Jazz went about her business but she did stop to get the doorbell. She ushered Sam and Tucker over to Danny, and he proceeded to explain it all while Jazz paced nearby to catch a glimpse of their reactions. Tucker had full faith in Danny's plans, whatever they were, and trusted that Danny knew what he was doing. Sam was skeptical, though, which Danny and Tucker didn't like.

"Come on, Sam, you'll get used to it eventually." Tucker said with a positive smile.

Sam only sighed. She felt that Danny should have run the decision by her first, but Danny disagreed on that.

"It's for the best, Sam." Danny said with a smile directed at both of his friends and his sister. "Have a little faith in me, okay?"

Danielle came down the stairs at that time. Danny explained everything to her, and made sure to reiterate that the five of them were to keep this secret a secret this time. Danielle was glad to be a trusted member of the team this time around. For her, this was a new beginning. It was Danielle's chance to see how the world would be if her family had no actual claim to fame anymore.

She might have been overly optimistic in thinking about it because the Fentons were back to being a family of lame ghost hunters, but she kept a positive outlook regardless. Danny saw this as a huge opportunity for a second Things looked good and the future was bright. Whatever their challenges, they'd face them together.

Danny had all their backs, and he put his faith in them as he always did. Nevertheless, something lingered in his mind that told him something was out of place. Something wasn't quite right. Something was missing, or, something was in his life that didn't need to be. It would be a while before he learned just what it was.


	3. Chapter 3

**Whoa this story has so many hits already, and with just two chapters XD figured I'd add another. FINALLY Cecelia's introduction haha I couldn't believe how much she had changed in my later writings from her original debut here. But I fixed that in this chapter. **

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**Chapter 3**

Danny walked home from school one day with Sam and Tucker, like usual. Today they were going to Danny's house, which was the plan. But plans were made to be broken, apparently. The trio was taken by surprise, when, out of the wide-open blue skies a giant withered dragon attacked Danny. Taken off guard, Danny was knocked to the ground before he had a chance to change into his phantom form.

As Danny lay on the ground, groaning in pain, the dragon nabbed Sam and threatened to burn her to a crisp by breathing fire on her. The goth's screams were so loud and horrid that they could have woken up the entire town if it was nighttime. But it was daytime, and the city was bustling so loud that surely her screams were not heard beyond the nearby street.

Tucker anxiously rummaged through his and Danny's backpacks searching for a device called the Fenton thermos that could suck up ghosts and trap them within. "Danny? Where's the thermos?!" The tech nerd demanded in a panic.

"I left it at home!" Danny yelled back in reply as his brain was hurriedly trying to figure out why this new villain had chosen him and his friends as its prey. Danny looked like an ordinary human at the moment—black hair, blue eyes—just like half the town, practically. Tucker panicked some more, not knowing what to do next. If Danny didn't come up with something fast, they were at the mercy of the dragon!

Danny changed into his ghost form and flew up to charge at the ghost, but was almost instantly whacked by the enormous tail of the dragon. Danny blinked as suddenly he found himself back-down on the ground, staring up at the sky in double-vision. He had a huge migraine and it made his brain throb. He must have hit the cement harder than he thought.

And then out of nowhere, a black van pulled up and out jumped the dynamic duo—the government Guys In White. With new uniforms and new gadgets, the two muscle-men quarantined that dragon ghost tyrant military-style. It was too perfect, almost as if it was a setup. The ghost appeared, and only seconds later, the GIW showed up?

Danny was lucky the GIW didn't appear to have seen him yet so he took advantage of that and changed back behind a car. Danny looked to Tucker, who shook his head and said, "Don't look at me…_I_ didn't call them."

All Danny and Tucker could do was stand by and watch now. Danny knew that he couldn't go ghost here or the Guys in White would capture him for study, and he couldn't let that happen. In the quarantine process, Sam was dropped, and with a scream she fell and hit a car, denting it largely. Tucker and Danny ran over to her, and she scolded them for not paying attention.

Danny shook his head. His focus was still on the government guys' peculiar entrance. Danny had never seen them capture a ghost so quickly before. Usually, their level of success resulted in their discouragement, but not today. They even had what looked like their own version of a Fenton thermos, only this one was bigger and fancier and shiny with more buttons.

As soon as the guys left, Sam stormed to Danny and Tucker. "Since when are the Guys in White actually CAPABLE of doing their job…" She said in a low tone. "Something's not right."

"No kidding." Tucker said under his breath.

Sam cast him a glare.

"What?" Tucker asked innocently. "Dude, this is the worst PMS I've ever seen." He whispered to Danny. "I feel sorry for ya, bro."

"Ahem." Danny got their attention back on the subject again. "I know something's different about them. There's no need to re-state the obvious."

Sam rolled her eyes.

"So the Guys in White got an upgrade? So what? They're still _far_ away from my home so I think we'll all be perfectly safe." Danny said. "And besides, I have firsthand experience that they don't. So what's one ghost? It was probably just a fluke. I'll get the next one to be sure."

"But don't you think it's strange how they just happened to be here? Just minutes after that dragon showed up?" Tucker said smartly.

"That's what I was gonna say." Sam crossed her arms.

Danny sighed.

"Tomorrow you'll need to make sure you have the thermos with you at all times." Sam nagged Danny as the trio resumed their course for Danny's house. She thought she was allowed to nag him, but said he wasn't allowed to nag her—_problem number one_.

After the friends had eaten some junk food and watched a monster movie marathon, Tucker left. By then, it was nightfall. Danny didn't know what to say to Sam because they already hung out at school and at each other's houses often. For once, there was nothing to say. Sam scooted closer to him on the couch, but he was clueless, as usual.

Danny stood up awkwardly and pulled up his pants. "You should probably be getting…"

Sam put her finger to his lips. "Home? No, Danny, don't say _that_. How's about we go for a flight around town? I know how much you like seeing the city at night."

To prevent her from kissing him, he pulled her into a tight hug. It wasn't that she was a bad kisser or anything, he just didn't like to kiss her. Maybe it was the purple lipstick. Or maybe that was just an excuse. _Problem number two_. As they hugged, he realized, gosh, she was skinny. Really, really skinny. _Problem number three_.

"Sam, have you ever considered eating a double veggie burger with a large fry and chocolate milkshake and a sundae with everything on it?" Danny suggested. Sam broke out laughing and she hugged him tighter. "I'm serious."

She stopped her chortling and let go of him. "Oh. You think I'm too small?"

"Small, no. Skinny, yes. We're friends before romancers, you know that. I'm just being honest because I care."

"Right." She replied.

"Don't take any offense to it."

"I won't." She said, but it was a lie.

This was one thing Danny could tell for sure. She always took everything so…harsh. _Problem number four_. "And no, we can't go out tonight because I need to study. I haven't studied in days, and it's reflected in my grades. I'll already be up all night, so…yeah. G'night, Sam."

Sam hung her head depressingly as she walked out the door and left. She sometimes expected a fairytale romance with him, but neglected to remember that she was living a thing called real life. _Problem number five_.

Later that night, Danny chatted to Tucker over the phone while they did their homework together. Danny knew he couldn't get A's on most things unless he had the help of his nerdy best friend when he got stuck.

"Gee, man, she's really annoying lately." Tucker said from the comfort of his home desk. "And don't pretend; you know exactly who I'm talking about."

"No she's not." Danny replied in an unsure defense.

Tucker raised one eyebrow. "Ever since you and Sam have been dating, I don't know how to describe it, but it just seems off. It might just be me, and call me crazy, but give it some thought and try to see it the way I do. Why didn't you get with someone like Valerie, man? She was real hot. I know she was never interested in me. She always had a little crush on you, and according to rumor, she still does. I can't believe you never tried to get back together with her."

Danny gave it some thought. He pictured himself and Valerie together in his mind—holding hands, taking a walk in the park…and he remembered how much he used to care for her. Maybe he still did and had been in denial. Or maybe Tucker was just messing with his head. "I-I don't know, Tucker, okay? I'm really tired. I gotta go. See you at school. Bye." Abruptly, Danny hung up. He didn't know what he felt anymore, nor did he know how to handle any of it.

In a one of their many laboratory buildings, the government Guys in White were working on a new top-secret mission and project. If they met all their goals, their success rate would surely improve. And it already had. They had hired a new man named Mortimer Hazel to design some new equipment for them. Mortimer was a widower in his late forties.

He had been living in Downtown City for the past twenty-some years for research. He was formerly ridiculed by his bosses who thought he was insane for believing Colorado had some special connection to a dimension full of ghosts and other mythical monsters. It was only recently that the Guys in White had learned of Mortimer's work and decided to offer him a job, believing he was a genius that had gone unrecognized for far too long.

In the city, Mortimer had dedicated his life to paranormal studies, particularly with a focus on ghosts. He had been obsessed with them for almost twelve years. His interests ranged anywhere from hunting them to capturing them to obliterating them to ultimately destroying them. He finally created a blueprint form for an item that could be constructed to theoretically convert ecto-energy into electricity—and it was his greatest work.

It was also the reason for his new job offer. This was when he received a very important phone call from the government Guys in White. They heard of the claims he had given to magazines, and they wanted to find out for themselves if he was legit. So Mortimer was given a large house free of charge, one of the many "business propositions" the government had prepared to give him in exchange for his hard work.

In an instant, Mortimer packed up all his things and moved to Colorado with his daughter in tow. He looked up at the large house that stood before him. It had three floors—three floors of splendid elegance. And it had a large driveway and a lovely backyard. His old house was nice too, but this house was much newer.

"Dad, why are you doing this?"

Mortimer turned to give his daughter a momentary glance as he ran his fingers through his beard a few times. Like him, her skin was tanned due to being Native American, and their hair was dark brown almost black. His eyes were a bright blue, and hers on the other hand, were violet like her mother's. "Cecelia, I told you already." Mortimer sighed. "The government is finally starting to recognize my work. I've got a real job now."

"And what's this about a school you were telling me earlier?"

"We're too far from Downtown City now for the bus to pick you up or for me to drive you. You'll be attending a new school. It's called Casper High."

Cecelia smiled slightly. "I can't wait to meet some new people!"

"Good, because you probably won't know any of them. Now let's get settled in that house and then I can tell you all about my job." Mortimer was not the kind of man to get over-excited about anything. He was rarely happy or mad at all. He was most often in a state of enduring neutrality that Cecelia tended to ignore.

Cecelia obeyed and helped her father carry in things from her house. There were only a few items left now. One of them was a scrapbook from Cecelia's youth. She used to look at it on those nights that she couldn't fall asleep. The first picture was one with her and her family. Cecelia was real young in the first few pictures—only a baby. Cecelia remembered her mother and how she had been killed by a ghost. Her father never let her forget it. Cecelia was only three years old when it had happened.

Cecelia winced, though she really didn't remember her mother. One would think the sadness of losing a parent would be baggage to her, but it never really was. Cecelia was an optimist, and she had her friends if she ever needed a shoulder to lean on. She put the book away and adjusted her long hair so that it didn't get caught in anything.

Later in the evening, Cecelia and her father sat at the large dining room table and he stared at her intently. "What?" She asked him.

"How would you like to _help_ me hunt ghosts some time?" He knew she could not resist the thrill of doing something new and exciting like getting involved with a spectral creature.

Cecelia craved adventure and action. How could she say no? But how could she say yes either? She had no idea how to hunt ghosts! She was a very girly girl who was usually focused on her appearance and social life. She wouldn't know where to start! But she wanted to give it a shot. She just knew that her father hated ghosts, and had taught her to feel the same way. "I'll try. I suppose…I can learn." She gave her father an attempt at a brave look.

"Excellent." Mortimer stood up. "I'll tell the Guys in White about you and I'm sure they will allow you to help me on occasion, seeing as how this town is chock full of ghosts. While I'm working on constructing my invention, you can go to school. And in your free time, they'll have someone train you how to catch a ghost. Once you have caught one, then we'll be able to test my invention. And then we'll be heroes—rich, famous heroes."

"Brilliant." Cecelia smiled. "Don't you think it's a bit of a long-shot though? I think I'd suck at all that. I mean, I can't even figure out how to get A's in school or lose the weight I want. How am I supposed to…"

"Trivial details, Cecelia. Remember your karate class?"

Cecelia thought back to the summer two years ago when she was thirteen. She was thinner and cuter, but pretty bad at karate altogether and never really had it in her to tell her father that. But she couldn't back out now. She needed some excitement and a new hobby. Ghost hunting could be just that.

Before Cecelia went to bed that night, she brushed her teeth and changed into her pink and white nightgown and looked in the mirror. Her hair was a mess and she laughed at the way she looked. "Time to, uh, reinvent myself, I guess." She told the reflection in the mirror. "I'll need to find myself a new sensei…and I just hope this new school has a cheer squad. Casper High…here I come!"


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Later in that same week, Mortimer and his daughter went over to the Guys in White government building. Cecelia had not been required to attend school yet as she had just moved so she was given the week off. She and her father had finished unpacking early, which left her free to visit his place of work. It was a large and very scientific-looking building. There were gadgets and buttons everywhere, and unimportant technicians monitoring them.

Two guys in white suits approached Mortimer and Cecelia. "Hello, you must be the Hazels." One of the men greeted charmingly.

Mortimer and Cecelia both nodded slightly.

"Mr. Gray!" The second guy in white hollered at a strongly built dark-skinned man with a beard and glasses. This new man looked middle-aged, as opposed to the other two who looked barely thirty.

"Hello, Dr. Hazel, I'm Damon Gray." The dark-skinned man greeted. He seemed slightly awkward which Mortimer picked up on immediately. Either that, or it was under confidence. "I'd like to be the first to purchase your invention. My lab—Axion labs—is constantly being plagued and trashed by pesky ghosts." He explained. "One of them is that Phantom kid…" He said under his breath. "Anyways, I too have a daughter. And being a single father, you can understand the heights I'd go to protect my child…"

"You'll be the first to acquire my invention, yes." Mortimer reassured the man.

"So your lab is like, haunted?" Cecelia crossed her arms in disbelief. "They just…come?"

The man was very cautious in his reply. "Yes. Lots of random specters, but, er, this one particular ghost teenager disturbs the lab a lot. His name is Danny Phantom. Some people regard him as a superhero, since he did help save the world from the Disasteroid."

"Oh yeah I saw that on the news." Cecelia remembered vaguely. She thought the whole thing was a setup though, but that only proved her ignorance.

"But that does _not_ give him permission to trash my lab when he's battling his enemies! I won't have it!" Damon looked determined. "My daughter, Valerie is a ghost hunter. She fights for the side of justice. Despite not having grown up with much, she's determined to make something of herself where I almost failed. I appreciate that she's taking initiative here but I don't know what I'd do if she was seriously injured."

"Your daughter, how old is she?" Cecelia asked. "High school?"

"Yes. She's a sophomore." Damon replied. "Ironically she looks to be about your age too."

The two men in white suits grinned at each other for this comment. There was more than one reason they had hired Mortimer to work at this place and one of them was because of the two daughters being the same age. Everything was going according to plan…so far.

Cecelia gasped in delight as her eyes widened with excitement. "_I'm_ a sophomore!"

"Splendid!" Damon smiled. "I'm sure you two will get along great. Valerie could use a new friend after those A-Listers ditched her so many times last year. Though I must warn you, young lady, my daughter's a bit thick-headed."

One of the guys in white cleared his throat to get the small talk to stop. "Ahem. Now that this little friendly meeting is over, let's get to work." He, Mortimer, Damon, and the other guy in white walked away, leaving Cecelia there to look around as she pleased. The girl slowly walked around, careful not to disrupt anything.

Science and technology were never Cecelia's strong points, so she had no idea what was going on around her. She simply paced across the building and down a hallway and only looked up every now and then as she was in between texting her friends Tekairo, Alex, and Levi. A young man approached her, but she didn't notice until he was right in front of her.

He had messy medium brown hair with a streak of crimson red right down the middle. He was tall, gangly, bony thin, and he had a dark grey shirt with a yellow dragon eye graphic on it. That was underneath his lab coat. "Hello. Excuse me, are you Mr. Hazel's daughter?"

"Yup." Cecelia replied, putting her phone away.

"Do you have any interest in ghosts also, or are you exactly the kind of person you look?"

Cecelia raised an eyebrow.

"Is there more than meets the eye with you, or are you just daddy's princess?"

Cecelia looked down at the graphic on her own pink tee that said princess on it, and laughed. "Alright, you got me there. I'm a little bit of both, I guess."

The guy rolled his eyes. "You can't be both…" He said under his breath.

_If there's more than meets the eye with me, I'll be just as surprised as you are_, she thought. She laughed a little more. "If you say so. But yes, I do have a small interest in ghost hunting. What's it to you? Don't you have work to do?" The young man just sighed lightly and turned back around and continued to walk down the hall. Cecelia caught up to him. "Whoa, wait, I'm sorry, I didn't mean that to sound rude, I—"

He rolled his eyes again. "Geez, stop rambling. I didn't take offense to it if that'll make you feel any better. It's just, if you're going to be another Valerie, then you have to do it right. And I dunno, by the looks of you, she'll squash you like a bug if you ever get into a duel."

"What are you talking about? Uh, wait, you know Damon—er, Mr. Gray's daughter?"

"Do you?"

"No. Not yet, anyways. But what does she have that I don't?"

"Skills, a suit, and a motive." The young man replied. "And a bad temper if you tick her off, but, that's unfortunately the way most women are these days."

Cecelia shrugged. "Well, not me. It's hard to make me mad."

He smiled ever so slightly at that. If only she knew him, she would have realized just how rare it was to get that look. He shook her hand, and finally introduced himself. "I'm Garth Lloyd. And yes I work here, but I'm on my break." He stopped in front of a door. "And when I'm on break, I practice." He opened the door and the two of them went inside.

"Whoooa." Cecelia whispered to herself as she turned around and around like a puppy dog chasing its tail as she tried to take in the full scape of the room. She saw weapons galore—everything from ecto guns, booster guns, rays, blasters, shooters, and even something that shot arrows and something that immobilized its targets. "Is this all yours?"

Garth scoffed in reply. "Wow, you really are a princess. Uh, no. None of it is mine. I just pick this room to practice because nobody ever goes in here at this time and because it's far away from the hustle and bustle of the main lab rooms."

"Oh, I almost forgot to ask. What do you practice?"

"Fighting techniques, which this room also provides good inspiration for. I've taught myself some skills similar to martial arts and I practice executing them here so I can get better and better."

"Who do you fight?"

"Huh? Oh, anyone who attacks, I guess. I've been in more fights than you would think. I try to stay out of them but, sometimes I feel like I'm a magnet for disaster." He rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly.

Cecelia didn't know what to say to that but she wanted to make him feel better. She wondered if some days in her free time, she could come to practice with him and perhaps they could help each other. "Well, I'm glad I met you, Garth. The desire to be better at martial arts-type skills is the one thing we share."

He shook his head. "Noooo." He replied skeptically. "You? Noooo way."

Cecelia laughed. "Yes!" She cheered. "Absolutely. I might not look like I'm in shape, but I've been in cheer for the past three years, so yeah. I've got this. I'll make myself better, see?"

"Alright, alright, maybe I'll see you here sometime then."

Cecelia smiled excitedly. He proceeded to give her a lecture on weaponry and ghost-hunting. Luckily she wasn't sharp enough to question why a college-age teen would have anything to do with ghost-hunting outside of his job. But rather, she found everything he said to be intriguing. Perhaps if she secretly trained with Garth, he could be the key to impressing her father if she ever decided to seriously catch a ghost for him.

That next week to follow brought on Cecelia's first day at Casper High. Alone, she walked to her first class. It felt a bit surreal to not be in a clique of friends all walking together as a pack, but she figured soon enough people would start talking to her. She was determined to keep a positive attitude no matter what.

The teacher's name was Mr. Lancer. He had a little black goatee, a wrinkled face, and a big belly. She didn't even wait for his lecture to start before she began to daydream. She couldn't help her mind from wandering, as she was often hyper and easily excited. She definitely needed an outlet for all of that energy.

"Sorry I'm late, Mr. Lancer." A chubby dark-skinned girl walked into the classroom. She ambled along carrying an armful of books.

Mr. Lancer peered down on the girl with a stern set of eyes. "Take your seat, Ms. Gray. I'll have a word with your father about all of your tardies."

The girl took her regular seat near the back. Cecelia wondered if this person and the Valerie she had heard of last week were one and the same. Could they really be? The Valerie Cecelia pictured before was strong and tough, and now this person looked like just another kid stumbling through adolescence. After class was over, Cecelia approached her to find out once and for all. "Hi. I'm Cecelia and I'm new." She introduced with a warm smile.

"Fantastic." What Valerie meant to say was "I don't care", but she didn't say it because that would have been inappropriately rude. She started to walk to her next class and Cecelia went with her.

"Wait. Your father and my father, Mr. Hazel, are business associates. And I believe I met your father last week. My dad's a new hire. Your dad wants to buy his machine."

Valerie still didn't look very interested, but Cecelia didn't know how to connect with someone who seemed so cold. All she could do was try.

"Your father said you like to hunt ghosts." Cecelia went out on a limb. "Well, I do too. I mean, I don't have any experience, and I'd probably be bad at it, but I want to learn. I heard you were really good at that sort of stuff."

Valerie's eyes sparkled as she looked back at the girl. "I'm Valerie." She replied finally, acknowledging their acquaintance. "I don't like that my information was shared with just anyone, though, I'm glad it happened to be someone with an interest. Hey, why don't you sit with me at lunch?"

"Awesome!" Cecelia grinned.

Valerie laughed out loud but inside her mind raced with apprehensive thoughts, particularly regarding the fact that this girl didn't look like she could win a fight with a first grader much less a ghost. Then, thinking back to her own life, Valerie knew that anyone could thrive, given a chance. Pasts were irrelevant in terms of potential.

At lunch, Cecelia and Valerie sat together at the table which Valerie liked to sit at. At the other end of the table were the really popular kids. Cecelia glanced briefly at them. Valerie noticed Cecelia's look. "Oh, that's Dash and Paulina. They're dating. And there's Kwan and Star too, beside them."

"They're dating too?"

"Yes. Those two couples have been together since freshman year. But they're kind of off-again on-again. I even dated Kwan once." She cringed. "It wasn't pretty."

Cecelia laughed as Valerie proceeded to tell her the names of all the people she knew, which was practically half the school. Cecelia pointed out one last table that Valerie hadn't addressed yet. "Hey, who's that over there? Those guys. I think I saw them in one of our classes but I could be mistaken. A lot of the students here look alike." Cecelia noticed three teenagers migrating over to an empty table.

"It's the black hair. Our school is overrun with kids with black hair." Valerie joked. Her expression suddenly turned serious as her eyes followed Cecelia's gaze. "Oh those losers? The gothic chick is Sam Manson; you should probably stay away from her. You'd hate her dark style. She has the world's most irritating attitude. She thinks she's better than everybody and she doesn't like meat. She's bossy and rude and she is the most jealous girlfriend I ever seen." Valerie noticed Cecelia's surprised look and winced slightly. "Too mean?"

Cecelia nodded assuredly.

Valerie didn't seem to agree with the critique. "Well I suppose it's fair then that she's at the bottom of the social food chain and I'm at the top. Or at least close to it, since I hang out with Paulina."

"Paulina's the pretty one right?"

"Yeah. She's turning out to be a better person than I thought she was. Before I got to know her, I thought she was a total snob. But she's not. She can be a bit of a ditz, though, but in a good way. Although I usually hang out with Star more."

"Well, I'm just glad you didn't make friends with a meanie like Sam."

"It's hard to keep from hating her. It takes all the control I have—which isn't much—not to just go over there right now and tell Danny how horrible she is." Valerie stared at that black-haired boy from a distance. Cecelia presumed him to be Danny, Sam's boyfriend. When Sam stood up to throw something out, Valerie's head snapped back at Cecelia and she quickly asked, "What do _you_ think of her?"

"Me? I don't know her. She dresses kinds weird, but hey, I like pink and there are a lot of people who hate pink. Sam is _way_ too skinny though."

Valerie nodded in agreement. "Well, ya better get used to her. There are a lot of weirdos in this school."

"That boy with the black hair over at their table looks like a bit of a geek."

"Danny? No. He is _not_ a geek at all. He's better than average looking and he's got a cool personality. He's just really shy, and kind of ordinary. He has a great smile and really blue eyes. Blue eyes are nice, right?" Valerie chuckled nervously. "I even used to like him. But his friend, Tucker Foley, really is a loser. He's a techno geek, and he thinks he's a ladies' man."

Cecelia smiled, which she did all too often. "I think that's the guy I meant. But, well _there's_ an oxymoron for you! Does he always wear that silly red hat?"

"…_Yeah_." Valerie added to the laughter.

"Oh geez. Every school has that one table full of the people that don't fit in any of the social groups." Cecelia shook her head.

"That's them."

"It's just like television…"

Somebody tapped Cecelia's shoulder.

"Hey, I'm Paulina. Welcome to the A-Lister table. And welcome to our class too! What is your name? Do you have any hobbies? Like shopping or dance or anything?"

"That was random. I'm Cecelia Hazel. But yeah, I do like to shop a lot. I can't dance for my life, sadly. I don't do sports but I'm thinking of trying out for the cheer squad if there's a team."

"Like, no way! We definitely have a team, and I'm on it! I'll definitely get you in, don't worry. Just start coming to practices and we'll have you caught up in no time."

"Caught up?"

"We started practices mid-August, before school even began. So you're about a month late, but it shouldn't be too big of a setback; you'll just have to work extra hard, okay?"

Cecelia nodded, momentarily forgetting her drive to practice martial arts with Garth so that she could at least be a decent ghost hunter. "I'll be there."

"Ooh, yay! And then after cheerleading practice you'll get to meet that sweet-hearted hottie the ghost boy!" Paulina squealed. She clapped her pretty little manicured hands together. "He's a real brave guy, and shows up at our school a lot. He saved my life countless times. He's my hero…" Paulina swooned.


	5. Chapter 5

**As I edit through the story, I'm embarrassed at how much dialogue I used to put in XD too much! Anyways I'm fixing that by adding details and descriptions to add to the scene and plot. **

**Hope you guys like it and review ^^ More chapters will be coming soon as I hope to finish posting the story within the next month or two or three. There will be at least 30 chapters, possibly a couple more depending on how much I add. **

* * *

**Chapter 5**

Cecelia smiled mischievously. "The ghost boy, huh." She said to herself.

"Yeah," Valerie added bitterly, "His name is _Danny Phantom_." She enunciated through clenched teeth, revealing what was only the tip of the iceberg of her negative feelings toward him.

"Oh, lighten up, Valerie. Danny's a hero if ever there was one." Paulina waved farewell, for now. "See you at practice, girls!"

"_Danny Phantom_? You don't say…maybe I'll get lucky and my two goals will converge…" Cecelia gave Valerie a mischievous look and in an instant Valerie understood and processed the message. "It sounds kinda easy, but if he's almost guaranteed to show up, maybe he'll be the object of my first ghost-hunting lesson from you."

"From me? Uh, Cecelia, I'm in cheer too. I won't have time to give you lessons." She replied sadly. "Sorry. I'd really like to, but I can't."

"Oh alright, it was worth a shot." Cecelia replied optimistically, still remembering she had Garth on her side. "But hey at least we found another thing we have in common! Cheer! Yay!" She clapped her hands. "I've been in love with the idea of being a cheerleader since I was a little girl!"

Valerie reflected Cecelia's smile. "You have the weirdest reactions to things, I swear." She joked and the two of them laughed.

After school, Paulina and Valerie found Cecelia. The brunette stuffed her sweaty gym clothes in her big pink and red gym bag by the lockers. Embarrassed that they smelled so bad, she wanted to get home and wash them quick but when she saw her friends, she was quickly reminded of her prior commitment.

"Come on follow me, _cheerleader_!" Paulina happily took Cecelia's arm and practically dragged her to the gymnasium, with the heavy bag in tow.

Cecelia looked at Valerie after they had both surveyed the roomful of preppy girls. "How long have you been in cheer?" Cecelia wondered out loud.

Valerie sighed. "I got into it over the summer between junior high and high school and worked my butt off so that I could make the squad. I'm not exactly in shape, you know." She said, looking down at her figure. "I have to keep up my fitness every chance I get. And this is the only extra-curricular activity that works all the muscles I need for," Valerie's voice turned into a whisper, "_Ghost hunting_."

Cecelia nodded. "I guess no matter what, I'll kinda be following in your footsteps then, you know, with using cheer for similar reasons…though I did always love cheer!"

"One two three four!" Paulina turned on the music and she and the other cheerleaders began to do a rehearsed dance. They all moved in sync with muscular precision. Their legs snapped to the beat. Ponytails whirred around but none of them seemed to mind it. Through it all, they kept serious expressions on their faces. They were very focused.

Cecelia realized there definitely were a lot of moves she'd have to learn fast. It would probably be a cinch if she didn't have any ghost-related things to think about but she had no idea where she was going to find time for it. "I think I'll just watch for now." Cecelia mentioned to Paulina. The brunette leaned her back against the gym wall.

"Okay!" Paulina chirped in reply. "Just jump in anytime you feel like!"

Cecelia looked down at her own body. She had a lot of muscle, but she was not thin like most of the cheerleaders. She hoped that cheerleading would aid in taking off the extra weight.

Out of the corner of her eye, Cecelia saw her father appear. He was so brisk and tall and shady that he was like a ghost. When he did that, she sometimes got a few chills down her back. It was creepy, and she wasn't the only person who thought so.

"You want to be a cheerleader, Cecelia?" Mortimer asked his daughter as he approached her with his big, sturdy footsteps. "At this school now?

"Uhm…yes. I supposed that all the extra fitness stuff would help me with ghost-hunting. You know, it would help me be stronger and healthier, and more agile too."

"Hmm. I see." Her father considered. "Then I think it's a good idea." He replied, as she predicted since she threw her reason in there.

Cecelia smiled. "Cool. Can I stay to watch the practice?"

Mortimer nodded. The two of them stood there for an hour just watching the talented girls do their thing. There were front flips and back flips and splits and helicopters and then a pyramid at the end. Paulina broke up the practice and then she and Valerie walked right up to Cecelia.

"So are you ready to join, officially?" Paulina said in her usual, uppity tone of voice. She twisted her hair, a habit she had developed while waiting for other people to talk. "I mean, you'll have to try out first, but don't worry, you'll make it!"

"Yes." Cecelia answered proudly. "I'd totally be glad to." Paulina hugged her lightly and then stepped away, smiling cheerfully.

Cecelia gave Valerie a certain look. It took Valerie's brain a moment to realize what Cecelia was trying to convey without saying something. Valerie smiled at Cecelia for that very reason. Valerie knew that she would stop at nothing to kick some ghost butt with her new sidekick, Cecelia.

Paulina walked over to her friend Star to tell her the news about their newest addition and scheduling her tryout. Despite the rules for the squad, she wanted Cecelia to be on the team even if she was horrible at cheerleading because she didn't want Cecelia to get usurped into the loser crowd. The more popular girls that were in Paulina's pack, the better she looked.

And so, while Paulina was working on something made-up to tell Cecelia she was in without a tryout, Mortimer introduced himself to Valerie. "I'm Cecelia's father. You must be Damon's daughter."

"Yes." Valerie answered. "Pleased to meet you, sir." They shook hands. Valerie liked to make herself look as professional in front of adults as she could.

"I'm very interested in the sort of work that you do." The main said casually, putting his hands in his pockets. "Your father says you have this anti-ghost battlesuit something or other. You told him not long before he joined the Guys in White over the summer, correct? Tell me, where did you get this suit?"

Suddenly feeling nervous and uneasy all over, Valerie lost her professional tone. "Uh, his name is Mr. Masters and he's very private." She replied rashly.

"Never heard of him. But, wait, you can't be talking about _Vlad_ Masters, the creature that tried to save the world from the Disasteroid?"

"Yes, that's the one, unfortunately." Valerie said with a hint of a growl. "At the time that he gave me the suit, he was the mayor. And I didn't realize he was half…monster. Or else I wouldn't have had anything to do with him, I swear!"

"No need to defend yourself to me, Valerie." Mortimer continued. "Don't get all worked up about it. You have the suit now and that's what counts. You've been given an advantage—a human with the ability to bring justice down on the enemy. It's a privilege indeed."

Cecelia shuddered. "I saw that whole Vlad thing on the news, it was everywhere. Imagine a being that can change from human to ghost like that—isn't it freaky?"

"I know, right! And afterwards, Tucker Foley became the mayor but that only lasted until he turned the job over to his father." Valerie said, starting to get back to her normal mood again, until Mortimer continued with his prying questions. Valerie just hoped the other cheerleaders didn't overhear.

"Tell me more about this suit. How much technology is integrated into it? Do you do the repairs yourself?" Mortimer asked Valerie.

"I'm working on giving it an upgrade. You'll have to see it once it's finished. It's going to be great! Haha, it's pretty high-tech I must admit."

"Sounds excellent." The man checked his watch. "We have to go now. It was nice meeting you. And I'm glad to know that Cecelia has made such a good friend on her first day."

"_Daaad_." Cecelia gave her father that stoic teenager look as they walked to their van.

Paulina ran to catch up with them before they left though. "Cecelia! Hey! Wait up, girl!" Panting, she finally reached them and Cecelia turned around just as she was about to get in the car. "Hey, you're on the team! You don't have to try out or whatever. I looked up your record and it seems like you made the Downtown City High squad last year, right? Well what's good enough for them is good enough for me! So like, congrats!" She hugged Cecelia.

"Whoa, wait, you guys have access to my records?"

Paulina's expression got slightly nervous as she recalled Valerie letting it slip that, "Cecelia better make the team because she was on the DCH squad last year" and tried to come up with a response. Fortunately, she didn't have to because Cecelia just shrugged and accepted it. Paulina sighed in relief as she waved goodbye to her new friend. "Whew, that was a close one." She said to herself, walking back into the gym to clean up.

Over the course of the next few days, Cecelia had discovered that she had more in common with Paulina than she originally thought. They became quite good friends as Cecelia slowly became part of the clique. Cecelia was pleased to realize that she was turning into one of those girls that stayed up all night talking to her friends—Paulina, Valerie and Star—about nonsensical things from childhood memories to cool music to the hottest boys to the cutest clothes.

One Saturday, Paulina invited Cecelia over for a mani-pedi. Cecelia was being very careful not to turn into a _complete_ airhead. However, she admitted she _liked_ the change. Her body was becoming more firm and defined with all the new muscle and she was well on her way to losing that little bit of pudge she had all her life that made her look bad in pictures.

Cecelia's face elongated a bit, too, with all of the weight loss. And being around girls made her stop eating cheeseburgers and fries and focus more on salads and fruits and all the other pretty foods that the popular girls ate. Her world was practically painted pink…and she loved every minute of it!

It was another week gone, and now it was lunch time. Valerie and Cecelia sat down at their usual lunch table, the one that they shared with the popular kids on the other half. Valerie had worked her butt off to get accepted back into their clique, and it was worth it. "I really think it's going down today." Valerie said to Star as the blond girl sat down.

Star's eyes brightened with excitement and mischief. "I know, I know." She smiled. "It's about time, too."

"Did I miss something?" Cecelia searched for an answer among the A-listers.

"No, not really, Star just thinks it's hilarious to keep track of the losers' love lives." Kwan answered in reply. "Pitiful people amuse her." He laughed.

"What? It _is_ fun." Star defended herself. "Like for example today my prediction is that Danny and Sam are FINALLY going to break up. They've been arguing all week." She smiled confidently. "Isn't it wonderful?"

"I always knew those two lovebirds would end up together." Dash said with a nonchalant attitude.

"But you never said anything about them _staying_ together." Kwan joked. He and Dash burst into laughter.

"Their personalities, like, _totally_ clash." Star pulled out a brush and mirror from her purse and started fixing hair.

"That's because they make a HORRIBLE couple." Paulina added in her two cents. "Duh."

"Whatever. Come over here, Paulina, so that I can blather on about sports and other manly stuff you don't care about." Dash said. All they had to do was lock eyes and they didn't care what each other said at all.

That left Valerie and Cecelia. "And _I _always knew they were so wrong for each other." Valerie said. She took a bite out of her taco. "Everybody kinda did but at the same time they loved to tease them about it because of her creepy crush on him since elementary school."

Cecelia just had a revelation. "You still like him, don't you!" She reasoned. Embarrassed that she hadn't figured it out sooner, all she could do was wait for Valerie's response for her impulsively blurting it out like that.

Valerie's eyes widened and she had a spit take all over the table Star and Paulina just looked at her from across the table. Valerie was so embarrassed now, but she had to face the truth sooner or later.

"I knew it!" Cecelia exclaimed.

"_You're_ cleaning that up." Valerie handed Cecelia a napkin.

"Fair enough. So…just admit it already." Cecelia encouraged after she finished cleaning up the mess. "There's no point in hiding it any longer."

"Allright, allright, maybe a little." Valerie whispered. "Maybe I never totally got over him. But, Cecelia, that doesn't change anything."

Cecelia gave Valerie a look.

"Ohh, no. You wouldn't."

"Yes, I'm going to help you get together with him after he breaks up with what's-her-face."

"No, no, no, no, no, no, no—"

"Whaaat? You like him, and according to Star, he'll be breaking up with his girlfriend _today_. Now's your chance. After school, he'll feel _so_ lonely and heartbroken, and that's where you come in."

"I wouldn't. I couldn't."

"But you will." Cecelia smirked coolly. "Come on, you deserve it, and he deserves a rebound after a breakup. Maybe this time you'll stay together."

"Fine, fine." Valerie agreed. "Let's just watch them and see what happens. If they split, then sobeit, I'll…I'll try to make a move. I'm a bit shaky on my flirting since we broke up but…I'll give it a go."

"Allright!" Cecelia gave Valerie a high five. "You've got this, girl, there's nothing to worry for."

A few lunch tables down was one table, empty, except for three teenagers. They were Danny, Sam, and Tucker—the trio of "misfits" that didn't really fit in any clique. Some called them loses but to others they were practically invisible. Since the beginning of freshman year, it seemed all they wanted was to be noticed, but something in between then and now had changed that.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

"So what do you want to do after school today?" Tucker asked his friends after taking a bite out of his cheeseburger. "Hang out, or are you all busy? I finished Lancer's report on British authors the day it was due, of course, but you two slackers I bet haven't even on it started yet." He said with a joking smile.

"Actually, I finished mine yesterday." Sam remarked. "We can go to my house. Wait, no, my parents will be home."

"And they still don't like Danny?" Tucker complained. "Oh come on, who _doesn't_ get along with this guy?" Tucker pointed out Danny's good hair and his winning smile. The three friends chuckled a little bit.

"Actually, guys, I've been really busy lately. Ever since the Guys in White updated all of their weapons, they've been making more and more of an effort to capture me." He said in a hushed tone. "Even worse, they've been running me out of a job by capturing all the town's ghosts so that I look like a fool."

"Well, we've got your back." Tucker assured him. "Don't worry, Danny. Just chill. Maybe this is fate's way of telling you to just take it easy for a while. You're still a person too, and you have a life."

"Tuck's got a point." Danny said with a sigh. "Well, I just don't know…"

"We've been fighting the Guys in White all week and we haven't gone out on a _nice date_ in a _long time_." Sam looked at Danny yearningly.

"I know, I know, but we've got three papers due this week and I haven't had time to do them at all." Danny said in a sigh.

"Danny, don't start slacking off…" Sam warned.

"I'm not slacking off!"

"You're always playing your video games on the computer." Sam reminded him. "Even with the current situation with the Guys in White."

"That's not true! I haven't touched my video games in a month! What I've been _doing_ is some research on the Guys in White and all their new fancy weapons."

"Oh." Sam realized. She hated being wrong. She let her shoulders slump forward so that she could rest her elbows on the lunch table.

"Why don't we all go to dinner at Danny's today? Then we can all hang out!" Tucker idealized, trying to come up with a compromise. "And maybe we can research things together!"

"Thank you for…inviting yourself to my house. Again." Danny sighed hopelessly with a grin on his face. It was just Tucker being Tucker.

"Well it'll be great, see? With your older sister working her butt off on her AP classes this year, we've basically got the house to ourselves, your parents being as oblivious as they are." Tucker smiled.

"You're forgetting about Danielle."

"No I'm not. She's no bother at all. I like her a lot." Tucker said. "She _is_ part of our team after all. Er, sort of. I mean, she's just as clueless as you but, she's…"

Danny rolled his eyes as he smiled. "Tucker, just stop."

"Will ya just go walk over there? You want him to notice you, right?" Cecelia egged Valerie onward, giving her a look and a smile.

"But I have no reason to be over there!" Valerie protested. She was just making excuses now and Cecelia knew it. She would look for any way to get out of it.

"Here, throw this out." Cecelia handed Valerie an empty juice box. Valerie stood up. "Go on, go." She encouraged.

Valerie never thought she'd be mad because the trash can was near a certain table. She turned around after throwing the juice box out and there were Danny and his friends sitting nearby. She noticed Danny sitting there, all cute 'n all. _Aw_, she thought, realizing how good he looked today and always pretty much. "Hi Danny." Valerie waved as she walked past the table.

Being caught off-guard, Danny didn't expect anything to come from Valerie. She rarely spoke to him ever but now all of a sudden she had stopped in front of his table, smiling almost. "Hi Valerie." Danny felt awkward. He really didn't talk to her very much anymore. Suddenly a bunch of thoughts raced through his head as he wondered why she could be over here.

"Hi Valerie!" Tucker smiled flirtatiously at her and made the click-click sound with his teeth. Valerie ignored him, like normal, because she knew he was only kidding but he was such a geek about it.

"_Hi_. _Valerie_." Sam crossed her arms and glared at Valerie until she was far away from the table. As usual, Danny was clueless and completely unaware of the jealous rivalry these girls had since Valerie first showed an interest in him.

Cecelia watched happily from her own table, along with Paulina and Star who took an interest too. She couldn't hear what they were talking about but she had a feeling it was going well. In the silence, nobody talked, and Valerie looked back to her table briefly but that was a mistake. Cecelia gave her a thumbs up.

Valerie looked away as quick as possible, completely embarrassed. Valerie realized that she had overstayed her welcome and her standing there was pretty awkward. So she walked back to her table, hoping she hadn't made an idiot of herself.

Tucker followed Valerie's gaze, and with surprise, his eyebrows shot up. "Who is that brunette sitting at the popular table? She's been there for a while now, but does anybody know her name?" He asked to break the silence. "She seems pretty tight with Valerie."

Danny turned around now. "Who?" He searched through the many lunch tables and shuffling students as his eyes finally landed on Cecelia.

"The girl sitting across from Valerie and next to Paulina."

"I don't know, but she looks like just another one of Paulina's clique to me. Remember, Tucker, those girls are a dime a dozen. Just like I told you last year." Sam said with a curt sigh.

Tucker only laughed. "Good thing I've got two dollars left over from my lunch change." He remarked, cueing Sam to roll her eyes.

"Paulina's probably going to take her under her wing and turn her into some sort of cheerleading little princess like she did with Star." Danny theorized.

"Yeah, right." Sam laughed. "Good one, Danny."

"I wasn't saying that in a mean way. Do you have to take everything I say so literal?"

"Well, I expect you to say exactly what you're thinking. That's what having a relationship is all about." Sam said with a touch of pride in her voice.

Danny turned around to face her. He folded his arms in annoyance, not really knowing how to reply. She could get him so…frustrated, and he just didn't know how to respond because he didn't want to hurt her feelings. Or, he didn't want to get her mad, because he didn't know how to handle that at all.

He kept thinking back to some of his phone calls witch Tucker, and how he knew Tucker was right. Tucker hadn't ever said it directly but Danny knew it was best if he finally ended his relationship with Sam. There was no way it could ever work. What had Danny been thinking? The end was coming. Or…perhaps it was here already.

"Here we go again." Tucker clasped his hands over his ears and put his head down, bracing himself for "it". Danny and Sam often argued a lot, ever since the beginning of their relationship. Tucker was getting just a little tired of mediating between the two of them. It was about time for that all to change. "Will you two…just stop it already!" Tucker almost shouted. They both got quiet and looked at him. They were both hoping he had some solution to their problem.

"He should apologize, right Tucker?" Sam raised one thick eyebrow.

"No! She's being completely ridiculous, right Tucker?" Danny gave Tucker a gentle pat on the elbow.

"Ugh!" Tucker said in frustration. "I can't take it anymore Danny! And you too, Sam! You're _both_ being absurd! And you're _both_ wrong! This is why you two should never have been together! This is the kind of thing I've been trying to tell you about for months! It's ruining our friendship. We had a great thing going."

"But, Tucker, you—" Sam started.

Tucker cut her off, as he wasn't done. "And I know I used to tease you about your crush a lot Sam, and I apologize. I never really thought through what things would actually be like for you as a couple. I made a miscalculation. For me, that should be the most humiliating part of it all but seeing you two acting like this…you're not yourselves. I just want things back to the way it used to be."

Danny and Sam were a little surprised at Tucker's outburst. Or, at least they acted it. Subconsciously, they had seen this coming. "Uh, Tuck, you of all people know how long I've liked Danny. And I really care about him." Sam turned to Danny. "You're my best friend…You know I'm always there for you."

"Well, that's no excuse for bossin' him around all the time! Ever since you started going out with him you think it is okay to tell _everybody_ what to do! You think you're always right." Tucker added.

"That's not true." She protested.

"Yes, it is. Jazz started to pick up on it too. And she would never lie. She and Danielle, also, have seen how you act with Danny because they live with him. Danielle told me one time you came over to their house and you tried to tell her to stay in her room."

"Because…I…"

"This is getting just a little ridiculous guys!" Danny stopped them. "Yes, Sam, you are really bossy. You've been really whiny lately. What's up with that? None of the dramatics are necessary."

"I still love you."

"Then stop trying to change me."

"I'm not trying to change you!"

Danny sighed. "You're always telling me to stop playing video games and study…"

"You got an F on your last History test!"

"But I have a C in the class. And then you try to tell me to dress better on our dates…"

"You show up wearing a hoodie and jogging shorts!"

"It's what I like! See, that's it! You're only concerned about what _you_ want. I'm not a perfect guy. And that's why I thought you loved me!"

"Here it is…" Tucker said to himself as his eyes bounced from Sam to Danny awaiting Sam's response.

"Well, then I guess I shouldn't go to your house anymore." Sam crossed her arms and stared at him. He didn't like that look in her eye, and she knew it.

"Well then I guess you shouldn't be my _girlfriend_ anymore." Danny replied.

Sam waited a moment. Danny wasn't going to move and that was it. She looked at him, then at Tucker, and then just walked away and out of the lunch room as they had both fallen quiet. Tucker came around to the other side of the table to sit next to his friend and patted him on the back. "I'm here for ya, man. But aren't you going to chase after her?"

"No, actually, it actually feels better now to have said it. I really don't know what I was doing the whole time. You know, after the whole Disasteroid thing, I had all that adrenaline, ya know, and it was all kind of in the moment, and it seemed like the right time, and she was there, and the ring—"

"You never really had feelings for her, did you?"

Danny hesitated. He really didn't want to admit it to himself. Sam was his best friend since second grade and she was also his first long-term girlfriend. And all those times during ninth grade she referred to as "moments"? He was a guy, so of course he reacted. He was shy around girls so of course he blushed when he had any out-of-the-ordinary interaction with one. Love could be so confusing and misleading. "No." He finally said. He put his hand on his forehead and let out a long heap of a sigh.

"If you ask me, dude, I liked my life a whole lot better when you two were just friends. Again, I'm really sorry if I ever teased you about getting with her. I thought I knew everything about you two but I guess there are always some things about people that can surprise you. Even if it's your best friends."

"You are right, Tuck." Danny said with certainty, leaning on his arm as he slowly poked at his meal. Every sound in the large open room seemed to resound with dissonance now as he pondered how the day's incidents would change the lives of him and his friends. Over at the table full of A-listers, murmurs of gossip circulated.

"That had to be it." Valerie said, grinning slightly. "At last, they're through!"

Cecelia laughed. "It's hilarious how excited you got about it. She still hasn't come back. Is it weird to say that I feel happy for you?" Valerie said nothing but just smiled smugly. After school, Cecelia and Valerie passed Danny and Tucker in the hall. "Ooh, there he is." Cecelia enthused. "You should go talk to him. Now's the time."

"Ugh, Cecelia, he doesn't like me anymore, though." Valerie whispered back. "We barely talk at all. He's like one of those random people you're friends with on Facebook but don't actually associate with in real life."

"Maybe not now, but you used to." Cecelia jeered her friend. "Every sort of relationship starts from nothing, right?"

Valerie couldn't help but smile because she knew it was true.

"Oh come on. I'm just the kind of friend you need—the one who helps you break out of your shell and talk to guys."

"I know, I know, and that's exactly why I won't do it!"

"You just need a little confidence. You're the girl who trains me how to fight ghosts, and now you're telling me you can't go talk to some scruffy teenage boy?"

Valerie shook her head.

"You've got a hovering surfboard, a super suit, and a blaster the size of Rhode Island and you're afraid of a little insecurity?"

"It's not that."

"Then what is it."

"It's Sam. Ugh, I hate her. She's always been so mean to me. And she's always acting suspicious as if she's got some big secret to hide that could change the world. Well, I'm not going to talk to Danny but I know something we _can_ do on the way to our fathers' workplace. We can follow Sam. Let's see where she lives. Maybe we can sneak up on her and scare her or something, I don't know. Anyways, I'm just curious how she's handling it."

"Why can't you just ask her like a normal person?"

"I'm not a normal person hehehehe." Valerie did a mock-evil laugh.

"But what if she lives far away?"

"It can't be too far—she walks home. I've seen her walk with the boys plenty of times."

"Well, then let's go, my stalker cohort. There she is." Cecelia pointed at Sam who was leaving the school by way of the gym exit. Valerie and Cecelia followed quietly.

"Wait." Valerie whispered. "I have this bracelet that can turn me intangible like a ghost. It'll work for both of us, but we'll have to link arms so the intangibility can cover you too." Within an instant, Valerie and Cecelia turned totally see-through and invisible. It was a weird feeling that Cecelia didn't know how to react to, but she liked it.

"Sweet!" Cecelia said with satisfaction. Together, the two of them followed the goth girl soundlessly until she made a turn at a large city house and went inside. Valerie and Cecelia turned around and faced the house.

"No. way. Manson's a rich kid? I would never have guessed, you know, because she doesn't dress the part. I don't understand—she could get so much attention if she just waved around a little cash." Valerie said. "So bizarre."

"Maybe she doesn't want to be popular." Cecelia shrugged. "But I don't get it cuz…popularity is awesome!"

Valerie turned off the intangibility and the two of them started walking to Valerie's house. "Well that would fit her personality—"I'm better than everyone else just because I don't eat meat and don't care what people think of me." Well everybody else cares what people think of them, so why does she think she is so special?"

"_Valerie_. Did she actually say that?"

"No. I'm just reading between the _ultra-recyclo-vegetarian_ lines."

"I'll admit she's strange but I know you're over-exaggerating just a bit because you don't like her." Cecelia said. "Kind of mean, if you ask me. Just because she was mean to you first doesn't give you the excuse."

"Hey, you don't like her either."

"I don't have a crush on her ex-boyfriend." Cecelia remarked with a smile.

Valerie smiled back and gave Cecelia a fist bump in return. "_Touché_."

* * *

**Finally the Danny and Sam breakup XD its one of my favorite parts in this story. Now drama is stirring. Do you wonder what'll happen next? Will there be a few catfights over Danny? Don't worry, there will be some ghost action soon!**


	7. Chapter 7

**New chapter :P Valerie decides to help Cecelia after all and they have their first encounter with Danny in ghost form :D**

* * *

**Chapter 7**

Over the course of the next week, Valerie and Cecelia were inseparable insomuch as they hung out during school and after school. Cecelia didn't spend nearly as much time at her father's workplace as she expected and had hoped Garth wasn't disappointed in her or anything. Whatever free time Cecelia had, she used on homework.

In this time also, despite cheer practice and school, Valerie was finally able to make adjustments to her suit and as well sneak one out of the labs that had been a reject. The new yellow suit would be Cecelia's, once Valerie had tricked it out enough. What the technicians didn't care was gone wasn't something they would miss. Still, whenever one of the girls visited the labs, Garth got suspicious. He wasn't the only one either.

One day after cheer practice was over, Valerie opened the door to her house and then Cecelia followed her up to her bedroom. It was time for a practice run. Valerie put on her red ghost hunting suit and Cecelia put on her own suit which was yellow in color. It was tight on her in the beginning, but now that her muscles had firmed up and she had lost some weight, it conformed more to her natural shape.

Cecelia put on some goggles to shield her eyes, put her hair up in a single ponytail, and picked up one of Valerie's bazookas. Valerie put on her helmet and made sure that all her ammo was loaded to the maximum capacity. "Hey what happened to that Garth guy that was supposed to train you?" Valerie inquired, thinking back to where she had got that suit at the lab.

"I don't know. Whenever I come to the lab, he's not there. And when he is there, he says he's busy. Besides, he was kind of creepy anyways. He was too serious and curt all the time. I feel like he's so intense for a reason and if it's something personal, I don't want to get into it. He never jokes around either. Since him training me could get him in trouble, I'd much rather have you as a teacher."

"Thanks." Valerie said. She clicked her feet together and a silver surfboard appeared below her feet. It was powered by two rockets at the back of it. "Now you try."

"Oh you installed it for me? Yay!" Cecelia clicked her feet together and nothing happened. Her shoulders drooped. "Aw…"

"I guess…there are still a few bugs to work out." Valerie said nervously.

Cecelia shrugged her shoulders and the two of them walked outside.

"It's time for a pop quiz." Valerie started. "I've got to keep you on your toes at all times. Focus, girl." Valerie pulled out a small green blaster from her back pocket. "If a ghost fires a simple ectobeam at you, what do you counteract it with?" She fired the weapon.

"Oh that's easy, a silicon ray." Cecelia fired one of her own weapons at the ectoblast and they both disintegrated. "My father told me that."

"Allright then. What about an ice beam?" Valerie had a weapon to launch that too.

"A blow-torch powered ray gun." Cecelia fired one and the ice turned into water."

"Ah, but I bet you won't know this one." Valerie smiled and pressed a button on her suit. Green goop sprung out of her suit and covered Cecelia.

"Ewwww! Gross! Ugh, what is this?" Cecelia exclaimed in disgust. Valerie laughed "Ecto-waste from my suit." She answered. Valerie laughed all the more as Cecelia tried to pick the ecto goop off of her but it was too…slimy. "Yuck. Valerie, why…"

Valerie was still amused as she went over to help, but just then something happened that wiped the mirth away. Up in the sky something shot past like a comet at high speed, and suddenly Valerie's face had that grave look that sometimes frightened Cecelia.

"Was that a shooting star?" Cecelia asked as she peeled the goop off her face.

"That was no star, Cecelia. I believe that was a ghost." Valerie replied, adjusting the weapons of her own suit and mentally preparing herself for a fight. "My first ghost with you…I hope you're ready for this, princess."

"A ghost?" Cecelia wiped green goop from her eyes. "Go catch him, Valerie!"

"I intend to. But you're coming with me, duh. You gotta learn somehow. See if you can get that hover board to work. Once you do, you'll be in the game. And my team always wins." Valerie smirked and she became airborne. She followed the ghost's trail.

Meanwhile Cecelia still tried all she could to get her hovering surfboard to appear. Feeling like an idiot, she kept at it, regardless of anyone who could be watching around her. Thankfully nobody was nearby for her to feel embarrassed but she didn't care as she only had one thing in mind. "Come on." Cecelia clicked her feet together over and over. There was a small shock in her feet. "Ow!" She exclaimed softly. But then the surfboard appeared. "Yes!" She said with sheer satisfaction and she followed Valerie through the wisp of air.

Awkwardly Cecelia flew, not even close to being used to balancing her weight on that thing yet. She almost fell off several times, but the board was loyal to the point where it caught her. Intelligent technology was a concept so mind-blowing to her.

The only reason that Cecelia was able to Valerie was that her suit's tracking device registered on one of Cecelia's beeping radars on her own suit. Cecelia had just barely begun to figure out what all her suit could do, but knew that her best bet was to follow that little dot. Cecelia observed Valerie fighting an adolescent ghost in a black and white jumpsuit. Frozen at first, Cecelia felt adrenaline flowing freely through her body. Yet how was it that she couldn't move?

Through reasoning and rationalizing, she figured on some way to think the situation through to determine what the best move could be. Logically, Cecelia assumed that the ghost had attacked first. So she fired the first weapon that her fingers could find. It happened to be a silicon ray. Her shot was a direct hit—Cecelia got lucky—and the impact tore off a piece of his shirt. But that was all; nothing serious. He screamed and bled, and then he fled. _He's a wimp if even someone like me could scare him off_, Cecelia thought, laughing to herself a bit.

"Thank you, Cecelia!" Valerie was grateful. "Although I probably could have captured him sooner or later, I'm glad you were here anyways. I'm sure he's scared silly now that I've got a partner to back me up. Danny Phantom and I always have had our differences."

"…Danny Phantom?" Cecelia could hardly believe _that_ was the mighty Danny Phantom that Amity Park respected so much. He looked like just another teenager…except for being a ghost and all.

"Yeah, some people consider him a hero, but I see him for the menace he truly is." Valerie sneered. "One time he destroyed my suit—my previous suit—and I just keep thinking "that could have been me". Can't you imagine what that feels like?"

Cecelia paused a bit as the two of them landed. Well Cecelia's landing was pretty rough, resulting in a small scrape on the leg but it wasn't anything she couldn't cover up. She hoped she would get the hang of that suit soon. "Why did he attack you? Why here? Why now?" Cecelia was a bit flustered. What if she _hadn't_ got lucky? What if Danny Phantom had attacked _them_ first? "I know how you feel in some ways, Valerie…wondering how much of the win is true skill as opposed to just lick."

Valerie felt uneasy, but not because of Cecelia's last sentence like the brunette expected. "Well, he didn't, er, _attack_ me…directly. It's just that, whenever he's around he brings trouble along with him. All ghosts are evil, whether they try to fool you about it or not." Valerie seemed so sure, as if she had more of a drive than she had let on. "There's more to the big picture, Cecelia, and quite frankly you barely know anything yet."

"Oh, I believe you. Ghosts are evil. Remember that story I told you about my mother?"

Valerie nodded slowly. "Yeah. I'm sorry your family had to deal with something like that. But in a roundabout way, at least you understand things clearly and don't let that one sad thing ruin your happiness." Valerie pressed a button and her suit disappeared and the hovering surfboard vanished into it. Cecelia pressed a button and her suit did the same. "I'm glad you got the hover board to work too."

"Me too. We kicked some major butt out there!" She cheered.

"Yeah." Valerie said and the two of them headed off to her house, smiling.

The next day at school, Cecelia and Valerie were bored to tears in geometry class. Cecelia had this spare notebook where she had doodled nautical things like anchors and life preservers and palm trees and beach waves, thinking of an awesome place she would much rather be at the current time.

When the teacher wasn't looking, Cecelia even checked up on her phone where she had a lot of old messages from her friends that she hadn't replied to yet. Cheer practice, homework, and hanging out with Valerie had just made her life so busy. The teacher droned on and on about letters and numbers and Cecelia was lost after the first three minutes.

Tired of drawing and not feeling like replying to messages at the moment, Cecelia turned to Valerie who was next to her, "You got any idea what he's talking about—all those equations and formulas?"

"Girl, you know I'm failing this class worse than you are!" That was Valerie's honest reply.

Cecelia sighed in frustration. Her grades weren't too great to begin with and it wasn't like the courses were going to get easier or like her dad had any time to help her with schoolwork. If she didn't make other friends who could help out soon, her GPA was doomed.

"Ms. Hazel, Ms. Gray, do you have something to share with the class?" The teacher inquired, having heard a groan of confusion from Valerie.

"No." Valerie looked down at her hands in her lap. That's what she did whenever she was singled out in front of a large group.

"Uh, no." Cecelia was embarrassed and she did not like to see people turning around and staring at her. She couldn't wait for something else to come along for them to focus on.

The teacher began handing back test papers—an action which Valerie and Cecelia never thought they'd be happy to see.

"Yes! A C! I actually passed!" Valerie exclaimed happily. "Wohoo, it's my birthday!" She joked, doing a little dance.

"Oh _no_." Cecelia studied her paper. "A 44%. My dad is going to _kill_ me." She felt her forehead grow hot as if she was about to explode.

Somebody who was sitting a few rows behind them got out of his seat and trotted over. "I can't help but overhear the fact that you're not doing so well in this class. So I'll let you know that I have a 4.0 GPA, and, FYI, I'm acing this class."

It took Cecelia a second, but she identified this boy's familiar face. What was his name? Valerie said it first. "Get outta here Foley!" Valerie ordered before Cecelia could even react to his sudden appearance. "You hit on every new girl that comes to this school. Just take my advice for once and leave Cecelia and me alone."

"Whoa, whoa," Tucker Foley put his arms in front of his face as if he expected Valerie to strike him. "I only came here to ask your friend if she needs someone to help her get a better grade."

"Sorry, not sorry. We don't take offers from techno geeks." Valerie put her hands on her hips with attitude.

"Geez, girl, calm down." The kid walked away.

"Techno geek?" Cecelia laughed. "But wouldn't he actually be able to help me?"

"He's obsessed with technology, games, and girls. He's nothing but a loser just like Dash says and I wouldn't be caught dead hanging out with him so I certainly don't want my new bestie to sink to that."

Cecelia shrugged. "Well okay. Who among our friends is good in this class?"

Valerie just stared at her. "I don't know, actually. Ask around?"

Cecelia nodded in reply. A few minutes later, the door to the classroom opened. Some of the students looked up briefly in curiosity, realized there was nothing to see, and then went back to whatever it was that they had been doing. The door was old, so it creaked with a loud metal groan that got the attention of Cecelia as it opened all the way.

She turned to see who had come in. She recognized Danny, Valerie's little crush. He was an average height, wearing dark blue jeans and a yellow tee shirt for a 2003 astronaut convention and he had green sneakers. "Danny! Man, you're okay!" The techno geek boy ran up to Danny and gave him a bro hug. Tucker seemed very concerned about Danny's welfare that he even helped him sit down, making Cecelia—and Valerie who had now turned—curious as to what was going on. Cecelia admired good friendship when she saw it.

"Ouch." Danny said. He felt on his chest where he was obviously in pain. Cecelia looked at Valerie and noticed that she winced whenever Danny let out a small noise of discomfort.

"I'm surprised you came to school after what happened to you yesterday." Tucker in a low tone so that the teacher—who had resumed teaching—wouldn't be able to hear.

"Shh!" Danny said briskly as Tucker took the usual seat beside him.

Cecelia noted that Sam the goth girl was not in this class. That, or she just hadn't shown up today. Cecelia and Valerie had made no mention of Sam since the day of the breakup as they had focused on their own schooling. Come to think of it, Cecelia hadn't seen Sam around either but that could just be because this was a big school.

The geometry teacher handed Danny his old test back. The boy studied it and frowned. "Aw, man! I got another D! I'm failing this class now for sure!"

"Well, you never study." Tucker remarked without thinking.

"I'm always _busy_." Danny said through his teeth.

"Well, maybe you can learn from your sister. She always finds time for both things—she's a straight A student."

"I know, I know. My parents compare us all the time."

Valerie had completely drowned out all sounds but Danny's voice. "Valerie, Valerie, answer my question." Cecelia tapped Valerie on the shoulder. "Are you coming to that party at Dash's house next month for his birthday?"

"What? Oh yeah sure." She replied offhandedly.

"You were listening in on Danny's conversation weren't you?"

"Maybe. Whatever. Shh!"

"You should just ask him out already." Cecelia mentioned. "Come on, you'd be much happier."

"No. It's still too early. I know I said that last week but don't you know anything about romance? It's the first week after the breakup that he'll be in denial and then after that he'll really start to feel lonely again." Valerie said.

Cecelia agreed. Despite having dated guys before, there was still something new she could learn. She couldn't help but feel very sorry for Danny though, being labeled as a loser, having a breakup, and on top of that all, coming to school injured. There was something about him Cecelia couldn't help but find strange. What drove him to keep pushing on through it all?


	8. Chapter 8

**Hey everyone :D finally got around to editing another chapter :) hope you all enjoy it!**

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**Chapter 8**

The bell rang and everybody moved on to their next class. Cecelia's next period was French. She picked it as an elective because she loved the way it sounded. While most teenagers took Spanish, Cecelia had always taken French as her second language.

"Students, listen up. Today we will be doing something very different in class today. You all will be writing a ten thousand word or more short story in class over the next two weeks."

All of the students in the classroom groaned, including Cecelia. Writing was _not_ her strong point at all. Her apparent lack of creativity made her cross her fingers at her side, hoping this wouldn't be as bad as she thought. She'd need a good letter grade to bring of her overall GPA even if her geometry grade was toast.

"You will be working in pairs and the story will be due exactly three weeks from now." The teacher handed out a sheet full of requirements. Each paper had a name on the top left corner.

Cecelia looked at her paper. It said "Sam Manson" on it. She sighed, hoping that she wouldn't run into any trouble with the person who she had heard about. But at least she knew the name which saved her the awkwardness of trying to figure out who the name belonged to.

"The name on your paper is the name of your partner. You two will be spending lots of time together, so I hope you are good friends. Get to work everybody."

Everybody got out of their seats to look for their partner, but Cecelia didn't have to look very far. There was only one goth in the entire class, and she was sitting at the back of the room with her head in her arms and her hair covering her head like a little blanket.

"Hi. Sam? I'm Cecelia, your partner." Cecelia smiled. The only way to really approach this kind of situation was with a positive attitude and the intention of giving it her best shot.

Sam revealed herself to Cecelia. She had purple eyes and straight shiny black hair that barely touched her shoulders. She had three ear piercings and she was wearing a black shirt and a dark green pair of jeans and combat boots. Her nails were painted black and she had black eyeliner and purple lipstick, but besides that she wore no other makeup. She stared back up at Cecelia gloomily.

"What's the matter?" Cecelia asked Sam politely, though she already knew what was wrong. Or so she thought. The breakup was not all that troubled Sam,

"I'd rather not talk about it." Sam stretched her arms and yawned. "Let's just get started on this story. Got any ideas?" She shoved her class books off to the side.

"No not really." Cecelia confessed as she pulled up a chair next to Sam. "I'm a lousy writer. There's not a creative bone in my body. How about you?"

"Oh, I've written a few stories before. Just about every person writes a story at some point in their life, I think. Mine were really bad, though, and short. I wrote them when I was thirteen and fourteen, and those were my awkward years."

"What are they about?"

"Danny Phantom." Sam whispered.

"Oh." Cecelia replied. She now sparked a sudden interest in Sam. "So you know him?" Cecelia tried so hard to hide the curiosity that dwelled in her eyes.

"Yes…" Sam said quickly. "I suppose you could say that he and I were old friends...?"

"_Were_?"

"Things got complicated."

"Okay." Cecelia replied. Obviously Sam didn't want to talk about it. But Cecelia wondered what the goth girl's connection to the ghost boy was. "Well what kinds of stuff do you like, to change the subject?"

"Goth poetry, the color black, reading sometimes, the night, and veggies."

"…This might be more difficult than I thought." Cecelia said to herself.

"What do _you_ like?"

"Cheerleading, shopping, manicures, movies, the beach, martial arts, and gh—fighting." Cecelia hoped Sam wouldn't notice that she nearly said _ghost_-fighting. "Fighting weight gain!" She laughed nervously. "Yes, I used to be really pudgy in ninth grade and since then I have been fighting it!"

"Wow. Well, that's different. We don't seem to have anything in common at all." Sam said casually. "But I'm willing to put our differences aside for this project because I'd like to get a good grade on it and I think we can have a bit of fun with it too."

The bell rang and it was time for lunch. "Do you want to sit with me at lunch today?" Cecelia offered as she packed up her books.

"Gee…I don't know…"

"Well, if you change your mind, I sit at the front table. It's the one with Valerie and Paulina. You can't miss it." Sam headed off rather quickly, before Cecelia had even finished her sentence. There was definitely something mysterious about her and she had to be hiding something. The fact that she had so openly mentioned Danny Phantom could possibly be connected to that too. After stopping at her locker to put her books down, Cecelia headed to lunch. She sat down across from Valerie. Tucker approached their table before Cecelia could even start eating.

"You there, do you know where Sam is? You were the last one to see her." Tucker asked, pointing to Cecelia. "You were her assigned partner in class, I heard. Where is she?"

"I don't know. I offered to her if she would like to sit with me and she said no. After that, I came straight here."

"Quit bothering us, Foley." Valerie said. "Buzz off."

Tucker just sighed and went back to the table he and Danny sat at and presumably relayed the news to Danny. Tucker scanned the lunch room for her. There was not a goth girl in sight. Every now and then out of curiosity, Cecelia and Valerie looked over at that table too.

"There really _is_ a lot of drama in high school. I've seen it in movies but I've never actually believed it." Cecelia said to Valerie. "And you were right about Sam. I think she is definitely hiding something."

"What surprises _me_ is that _we_ seem to keep getting involved in the lives of _those _guys…and Danny." Valerie said, reminding Cecelia that she always thought Danny was cool and refused to loop him in with the geeks.

"Where are they going now?" Cecelia noticed a blue mist come out of Danny's mouth and he tried to hide it. And then he and Tucker stood up quietly, with their heads down, hoping not to get noticed as they quickly walked out of the room.

But Cecelia and Valerie noticed most certainly, only because they had been watching the boys intently. "I don't know what's going on. Let's follow them." Valerie said mischievously.

Cecelia just laughed. "Why? What if they're just going to the bathroom?"

Valerie gave her a look. "Together? That's a girl thing. They're up to something and I know it. Come on, why not? It'll be fun. Maybe they'll lead us to the resolution of all the mysteries they have left me wondering about for the past year." Cecelia shrugged. The two girls stood up and followed Danny and Tucker outside, from a safe distance behind them, of course.

Outside the sky was an odd color and there was some strange large object in the sky. Could that be? It was a _dragon_! Valerie and Cecelia gaped in awe from the parking lot car they had hidden behind. Cecelia had never seen a real monster this closely before! Valerie had, and she at least had the sense to be worried about it unlike her airhead brunette friend.

The dragon was gigantic, with a purple body, green flaming hair, and dark red eyes that almost seemed to glow. He hadn't noticed the girls yet. Or if he did, he paid no regard to them. He breathed hot fire onto some of the nearby trees. A thin ghost boy flew up to him and bravely launched a plasma bolt at him. The dragon cried out, cueing the girls to cover their ears.

"_Phantom_!" Valerie glared with a look of anger. Her eyes narrowed and as soon as the dragon's screech ended, she balled up her fist and tried to keep her hot-headedness under control.

"From the looks of it, isn't the boy stopping the disaster the dragon would have caused?" Cecelia wondered.

"Yes, but who do you think _brought_ the beast here in the first place? Even if it's a ghost vs. ghost battle we're looking at, that doesn't mean either of them has to be the good guy. Being the good guy is _our_ job." Valerie said as she geared up into her suit. She clicked her feet and the hovering surfboard appeared. "Well don't just stand there!" She scolded Cecelia.

Cecelia pressed in the watch on her wrist and her suit appeared, and her hoverboard too. "Allright. Let's do this thing!" Cecelia gave Valerie a high five.

With that, they became airborne and started firing all kinds of weapons at the dragon in the hopes of weakening it or distracting it. Cecelia's weapon stopped working mid-fight and she began to panic a little. She was still so bad at this! Maybe just jumping right into the action was not always such a good idea. Valerie knew best though, and Cecelia trusted her. Cecelia just froze in fear and Valerie cringed.

The dragon was nearing them, ready to turn his fire on them instead of the ghost boy. Before the girls knew it, that same ghost boy began to use a strange cylindrical device to usurp the dragon. And then the dragon was just…gone. Valerie groaned. She had seen him use that thermos before and believed it to be some kind of containment device for the ghosts.

"Thank you…?" Cecelia gave the boy a confused glance. She did not know whether to be mad that she didn't catch a ghost or to be grateful that the ghost didn't catch her. Valerie was just mad that she hadn't been the one to stop the dragon.

The ghost teen blinked as his green eyes looked at Cecelia's. "You're welcome!" The ghost boy said as he flew away rapidly.

"Yeah you better run!" Valerie yelled, shaking her fist at him.

As the two girls transformed out of their suits and back into their regular wear, Cecelia wondered out loud, "What made you decide not to hurt that ghost kid?"

"Well, I'm sick and tired of fighting him as often as I do. He's a real pain. And besides, I was mad so I got a bit distracted. And you, girl, you need to review that weapons manual I emailed you. You can't seriously claim to be my sidekick and then just freeze up like that! Ugh."

"Sorry, Valerie." Cecelia sighed. "But anyways, does he live here? In the town?"

"Huh? Oh right, Danny Phantom. Psh, it's hard to say. He likes to haunt the school and this town. But I think all ghosts live in the ghost zone."

"They have their own _zone_?" Cecelia's eyes opened wide.

"Yes, and you don't want to go there. It's a wretched place. Those ghosts are always at each other's throats in a mad scramble for power. They're constantly in chaotic fighting. I've heard it's barbaric. Humans can only get in their way there. Ghosts have no regard for us. They'd use us for whatever they want and then have done with it. You really wouldn't like it."

"I'm sure I wouldn't, but it sounds like it would be quite an adventure to go there one day." She said positively.

Valerie just stared at her in shock at the true extent of her recklessness and foolishness. "You're not seriously considering—" But she was cut off by the sudden appearance of… "Sam! H-hi! What are you doing over here?" Valerie caught the goth spying on them from behind the shadows.

Sam stepped out. She looked like she was uneasy and lacked confidence. This was a rare moment for her. "Well, uh, remember how I said I knew Danny Phantom, Cecelia? Yeah, I was just, uh, waiting for him. Yes." She seemed very nervous.

Valerie was speechless for once. She looked at Cecelia for a moment, and then back at Sam. Cecelia just shrugged. And then, Cecelia followed Valerie inside. They walked on without another word to each other, but they ran into Danny and Tucker on the way.

"Did you guys go out to watch the fight too?" Cecelia asked them.

"Yeah." Tucker answered peculiarly. He and Danny had been trying to run, but they were terribly out of breath, Danny especially. The blue-eyed boy looked as though he was about to faint. Tucker helped him to walk straight. "Don't mind us, you know. Watching that kind of fight can really shake a person up!" Tucker mentioned nervously.

"Valerie, I really think Danny Phantom saved us on purpose." Cecelia whispered to Valerie. "He could have fought us. We were fully equipped. But instead he chose not to."

Valerie face-palmed. "Jeez, you really are clueless. You've totally missed the point here. We outnumbered him and so he high-tailed it out of there as fast as he could so he wouldn't get his butt kicked Why do you have to say it like _that_, as if he cares about anyone besides himself. He doesn't—he's a ghost!"

"I know I know, but maybe he's not completely _heartless_…" The brunette said quietly.

"Think what you want to think, Cecelia. I've got Danny _Fenton_ to deal with. I've decided to ask him out." Valerie determined confidently. "It'll be just like old times." She smiled then. And Cecelia was happy for her.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

It was later that same day when Danny started walking home. His chest was still aching from the ghost fight that morning and every step hurt as he walked down his street. He still had the pain from where he had been shot at. Though there was no mark, it burned. Earlier today was not the first in a series of similar attacks. Danny had taken plenty of falls and burns from dragons lately, and for sure this couldn't be the last.

It would have been too much for any normal teenager to handle, but everyone was lucky that Danny Fenton _wasn't_ normal at all. Every time he tried to think of the good that could come out of the fights, he was reminded of all the pain. But our hero would never give up. Every battle could only make him stronger, no matter whether he won or lost and the ghost got away.

Danny didn't like fighting dragons. How did the big things get out of the ghost zone anyways, in those forms? Why were they suddenly everywhere too? And why were Valerie and her sidekick able to predict where he was outside? And Sam, _oh gosh_, _she_ was a completely different problem. She hadn't spoken one word to him since the breakup. It was so _childish_, he thought. To him, breaking up really wasn't that big of a deal. But her being the type of girl that she was had to complicate everything.

Finally Danny had arrived home. He could put his problems aside and they wouldn't have to haunt his mind anymore. He could focus on the family he loved so much. He unlocked the front door and he saw his thin black-haired clone—er, adoptive sister—sitting on the couch watching television. "Hi Danny." She said in her sweet little voice. While watching, she was in the middle of doing her hair up in a fancy hybrid of a braid and a ponytail. She saw it on the internet and thought it would be cute.

"Hi Danielle. Are mom and dad home?" Danny inquired bluntly. He was tired, and he knew she wouldn't mind if he was completely straightforward.

"No." Danielle answered.

That meant Danny could relax. He sighed in relief. He didn't want them knowing how hurt he really was. He knew that they'd freak out. They'd think he got into a fight with Dash or somebody at school. Danny knew they'd ask questions that he couldn't give the answer to. Parents and questions were never a good combination, especially for a half-human half-ghost kid whose parents knew nothing about it.

Danielle stared at him for a moment, considering the different way he moved and walked. "What…_happened_ to you?"

"Do you want to know how many times I've fought dragons this week? _Six_. Six!"

She stood up now to get a better look at him as he unpacked from school. "As opposed to the usual…"

"Never." He finished her sentence.

"What's going on?" She wondered with odd concern and interest at the same time.

"I don't know but I'm really tired of it."

Danielle paused a moment as her brother put his shoes away. She followed him to his bedroom where he changed and unpacked his backpack, forgetting about the running television and her half-done hair job. She leaned coolly against the wall. "Does your high stress level have anything to do with Sam?" She didn't know what kind of reaction she'd get out of him for that, but she had to ask.

"Yeah." Danny sighed and lay down on the floor. "She's still being immature about it. All this time I've thought she was the mature one of our trio. But no…women can be so confusing. Try not to be so confusing when you get older and start dating guys, Danielle. Take my advice—be obvious and intentional with everything you do, okay?"

Danielle nodded. "I read online books all the time where it says a woman's heart is something a guy can never quite understand. I wouldn't know, but then again, I don't really believe it. If love is true, it either exists or it doesn't, and it's kind of obvious then, isn't it?"

"Exactly, Danielle." Danny said as he slipped on his pajamas.

He wasn't going to bed yet but sometimes he liked to wear a loose red shirt and his fuzzy plaid pants around the house. When he was done, he turned off the lights and they walked back down the stairs together. Danielle went back to the television which Danny looked in at for a moment. Just then there was a loud, roaring moan from outside Danny and Danielle rushed to the window. Shutting the television off then, Danielle looked concernedly at Danny.

"Aw come on!" Danny protested. "You know what? I'm done! No more dragons. Danielle, you can take this one." Danny sulked upstairs to his bedroom.

"Danny—" She started, but she knew she had to do this for him. He had to deal with so much in his life and she had it easy-peasy and responsibility free safe in this house all day. He was counting on her and she knew it. "Oh poo!" Danielle groaned. She walked outside. She transformed into her ghost form and flew up to the dragon ghost. He was not a full-grown dragon, Danielle noted, and his hair was brown mixed with red. His body was brown with a hint of orange shine in the scales and his eyes—a disturbingly bright shade of fire reddish orange. "What are you doing here?" Danielle asked the dragon.

The dragon only breathed fire on her. The fire surrounded her but she was protected by a shield she decided to put up. And then she launched a powerful plasma beam at the dragon.

"Take that!" She shouted in reply. "Not a very powerful dragon…" Danielle was surprised that this dragon could be knocked down with one blast. He was now on the floor moaning in pain. Not a very _smart_ dragon either. Danielle readied another large blast in her hands to finish him off. She waited until she gathered enough strength back to make the energy grow to the size that she needed and then she planned to release it on him.

"Wait." The dragon pleaded. "Who are you?" He asked then.

Surprised at the humanistic quality of its booming voice, the girl could only reply with her name in a simplistic tone. "I'm Danielle Phantom."

"You're related to Danny Phantom?"

"I'm sorta his sister." Danielle shrugged. "Emphasis on the _sorta_ part."

"I'm sorry the other dragons keep bothering him." The brown dragon let out a wheezing cough as he struggled for breath. "Give the dragons what they want and then they will leave. I actually came here to warn him about them."

"Warn him?" Danielle questioned. She thought it could be a trick. She had defeated him and he wanted to distract her so he could escape, probably. Then again, maybe he purposely didn't put up that much of a fight.

"I'm not a _real_ dragon, you see?" The brown-bodied dragon closed his eyes and he began to shrink down and morph just as well until he was in the form of a young man. "My form wasn't even the right colors. For someone claiming to be the sister of _that guy_, I thought you would have realized that immediately." He felt his head which ached and the other hand stopped the bleeding from where Danielle's blast had hit him.

"I did say sorta!" She replied. In shock, she released the energy buildup she was saving and let it dissipate into the air. She gasped as she took a long, hard glance at the young man. If she had just seen him on the street, she would have thought him a human just like everyone else. Evidently, he was more than just a human though.

He was tall, kind of gangly with bony broad shoulders he had yet to fill out, thin, with a pointed chin, gaunt face, and medium brown hair with a streak of red—blood red. It was a weird look but then again all sorts of colors were popular among teens and young adults these days. His eyes were just the common average brown, yet there was something piercing and serious about them, like they had the ability to see through anyone.

"What's your name?" Danielle asked then. He had to be about five years older than her. He was an entire head and shoulders above her in height difference.

"Garth." He answered in a pained voice.

Danielle hesitated. "Well how'd you get to be human _and_ ghost dragon? Are you related to Prince Aragon?"

"The Prince of dragons? No. I guess you kind of have to know my truth so you don't turn me in, huh?"

"I can keep a secret, don't worry." She mentioned, looking around. Nobody seemed to be watching, so she transformed. "I kind of have my own." She said with a shrug.

"I was born human. But one twist of fate decided to change that. It was a long time ago—I was only twelve. And I was just walking home from school one day and it was a pleasant day and I looked up at the billboard to see what was for sale at some store. And then some green circular thing appeared and three dragons flew out of it and I didn't know what to make of it. Honestly I didn't believe my eyes. They caught me staring and they took me up."

"Whoa." Danielle said. "That'd freak me out if I was you. But I don't picture you as the kind of guy who would freak out over anything."

Garth shook his head and continued. "I dropped all that I was holding to fight my way out of their arms. But by then, it was no use. Because I looked all around me: it was green and there was no sky—it seemed to go on forever in an aimless direction. It was very creepy. Then the dragons put me in a dungeon cell and they were arguing about something amongst themselves. They held many of those amulet things that they all wear, and, well, they were throwing them around and then one dragon took one of them and er—he put it inside of me and fused it to some part of my insides. They tried to get it out, but couldn't."

Danielle gasped. "So now you have that power too? Maybe that's what they wanted to know—if humans could have the power too. Did they let you go then?"

"No." Garth said bitterly. "I had to fight my way out. I remember having so much adrenaline. I thought I was going to die. Everything around me seemed hopeless. And then I felt a power inside of me and I just let it go and it came out as fire—and then I began to theorize exactly what they'd done to me. I realized I could have part of their power too now. I hated it at first, but then I began to use it every so often and now I can transform at will when I couldn't control it before. It used to activate based on my strong emotions."

"So you fought the dragons off back then?" Danielle asked, imagining Danny in Garth's place. "You fought them and won."

"No—I ran." He answered, as if it was obvious. Danielle's fantasy of Danny in Garth's place went poof. "I _flew_, actually. I had accidentally transformed. I'd never moved that fast in my life. I remembered the path that they used to get me into their little dungeon and then I found that green portal and flew out of it. And suddenly I was in the normal world. I thought it was all a nightmare, but then I looked down to see that I was floating—and still a dragon."

"That's quite the story. I think my brother would want to meet you." Danielle said. She took his hand and remained in ghost form as she phased Garth through the wall and then they were right outside of Danny's bedroom. "Can I speak to Danny _Phantom_ please?" Danielle knew he heard, which was why she hinted at him to transform. She had revealed her own secret to Garth willingly as secret in exchange for secret so they could have each other's trust. But Danny would have to reveal his own secret, that is, if he wanted to.

Danny proved he had been listening to the fight from close by when he opened the door to see his sister and Garth. "Hello citizen. What brings you here?" Danny asked awkwardly, in ghost from. He corrected his posture to something more presentable than a slothful teenager, and then put on a smile.

"Get a load of this guy. His name's Garth. He's a human who can transform with one of those dragon amulet thingies at will. I just thought you might find that _interesting_."

But Danny was tired and did not get what his sister was hinting at. "…So?" He asked.

"So…that's very cool. He is enemies with the other dragons, just like _we_ are. And he might be able to help us fight them since he came here to _warn_ us about them."

"What do you want me to do about it?" Danny asked.

Danielle smiled at his cluelessness and she leaned over to whisper to him. "I want you to let him into our little _team_."

Danny sighed. He flew outside and asked for Garth to change shape. Garth did so, and then he changed back into his human form. Danny Phantom considered the information in his head as he paced a little. Danielle just watched. Garth didn't even know what he was being judged for. Danny wasn't as impulsive as he used to be when he was younger so he wanted to make sure he made the correct decision here. If this guy really was a good asset, Danny didn't want to miss out on the help.

"So you really are legit." Danny said, amused. "And you say that the other dragons are your enemies? Why's that?"

"Yes. They want to catch me and try to make me fully human again. But I don't think that's possible. They may want to kill me, even. I don't really know but I don't want to stick around one long enough to find out. I just told the whole story to your sorta-sister over here." He pointed.

Danielle laughed awkwardly and gave two thumbs up. When Garth wasn't looking, she mouthed to Danny, "Please don't make him repeat it. It's LONG."

Danny sighed. This Garth guy could definitely be helpful in the future. "How would you like to join my team then? I've got a group that backs me up in attacks often and we pool our information to keep each other and the town safe from ghost attacks." Garth just looked at Danny questioningly. "Yeah, we fight monsters, ghosts, dragons and all of those other oddball creatures. It's me and Danielle and our two human friends."

Garth replied with a hollow, "Oh."

"Would you like to contribute?" Danny asked.

"What would I have to do?" He wondered in response. "I'm not used to being a part of something. In fact, I dropped out of high school in tenth grade. I prefer going solo when it really comes down to the wire. I only came here to share what I know so you wouldn't feel so defenseless against the dragon attacks. As for joining a team, I really don't know what I think of that…"

"We could really use a dragon on the team." Danny said with a smile to lighten the mood. "Diversity is a good thing when it comes to powers."

"I suppose I might be of _some_ help." Garth said quietly. "But not all the time. Only on occasion. And only if you guys agree not to pry into my personal life."

Danny agreed, and he and Garth were about to shake on it when Danielle interrupted and pointed up at the sky. "Um, guys…" She started, but didn't have to finish.

Danny's eyes goggled at the sight of a really big dragon this time. "Alright, Garth," He started, turning to him, "Now's your chance to show us what you got!"

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**Please review ^^**

**Today I have posted chapter two of my story Daddy's Little Heroes. I wonder how many of you will remember it from my old account. IF you don't, you should check it out when you get the chance c: it's the first of two next generation novels following the premise of Vlad raising Danny's kids and Danny thinking that his kids are dead. I think you'll like it :D**


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

Garth's cool attitude in the tense situation shocked the phantoms. "Oh that's Lyon. He's Aragon's nephew." That was his casual reply.

"Let's go kick his butt." Danny said as his eyes narrowed. Danielle readied a plasma blast and Danny readied an ice blast. Garth transformed into his dragon form and snorted fire out of his nostrils and it hit Lyon. Lyon was a green dragon with red eyes and yellow flaming hair. Lyon looked extremely angry.

Danielle hit him with her plasma blast, but it had no effect. She got a little hot under the collar after that. Though she put up a brave front, she really was a bit of a coward inside. But she couldn't bear to let Danny down if she high-tailed it out of there. The three of them together might have a chance to beat the new adversary.

Danny fired an ice beam at Lyon. Lyon winced but was able to repel the cold and counteract it with his own fire. Danny wondered for a moment if Garth had actually led Lyon here on purpose. Danny considered that he could have been tricked into this fight that was impossible to win on his own.

If Danny didn't have Danielle…and if Garth truly was not on his side…Danny could have been overpowered quite easily. But as Danny watched Garth, he seemed to be fighting back. Maybe he had told the truth after all, despite it being sudden. Then again, there was something else that didn't quite add up—how did Garth know Danny Phantom was going to be at this house?

"What are you doing?" A voice asked from below. Danny looked over the edge of the roof for a moment and identified Tucker. "I thought we were going to play Doomed."

"We're kicking some dragon butt!" Danny yelled back as he fired another beam in defense. Danielle looked over briefly, as she thought she had heard Tucker's voice.

"I can see that!" Tucker shouted in reply. "But I meant why is it taking you so long to beat him?" He challenged. Danny only rolled his eyes back and flew into the heart of the battle once more. Garth in dragon form seemed like he would make a powerful ally in a fight. But…though Garth knew some martial arts from what he had trained himself in, that didn't do him much good in that ginormous form. He didn't know how to fight in it—not that he even wanted to fight at all. But Garth tried for the sake of helping the town hero and his sorta-sister. Only Garth's fire made any real impact on Lyon.

Tucker hated just standing around. He remembered he still carried a Fenton thermos in his backpack. Seeing that the front door had been left open, he ran inside the building and ran up the staircases till he hit the entrance to the roof. Danny heard the hatch open and knew Tucker was there. Lyon was most likely too focused on the halfas and Garth to even think a human would challenge him.

So Danny knew Tucker had the element of surprise. The techno geek hid on the roof and waited for a clear moment. He didn't want to risk sucking up Danny or Danielle by accident. If he did that, he'd be in big trouble. So this all came down to the geek's aim. He clumsily pulled it out and opened it as he aimed it at Lyon. Lyon soon got sucked into the thermos. Tucker's next objective was to aim it at Garth, because he was a dragon also. Seeing this, Danny flew in front of Garth to block Tucker.

Garth couldn't believe his eyes. "Whoa." Garth stared at Tucker. "Why did his _soup thermos_ make Lyon disappear?" Garth questioned logically. He looked to Danny and Danielle for the answer.

"First thing's first: who are you?" Tucker asked, aiming the thermos at Garth, still. Garth surrendered with his mouth shut and hands high in the air.

"Whoa, Tuck. Chill. This is Garth. He's a good dragon. Apparently we have a few enemies in common with him—the dragons that have been attacking me. Apparently they're not fond of him either." Danny explained rationally. "He's on our side. And he just proved it.

"What would a dragon ghost want with another dragon ghost?" Tucker asked, confused.

"I'll explain it to you later." Danny whispered. "Just stand down for now." He said. Tucker sighed and lowered the thermos. Then everybody could relax. Danny turned to Garth. "The thermos, by the way, is no ordinary soup thermos. It can capture a ghost easily. It's very convenient."

"Handy." Garth commented. He landed on the ground as he transformed back to being human. Tucker watched in surprise at how ordinary the guy looked except for his one red streak of hair. Other than that, he could have been anyone. In the silence, the questions that the others had for Garth began to pile up. Danny had every right to ask first.

"Wait, how did you know my house?" Danny wondered. "I mean—er, Garth, how did you know I was here?"

Garth shrugged. "Rumors. I heard that the Phantom ghost boy hung out around here a lot. Some people even have seen him go into this house before on multiple occasions." Danny winced. "Naturally others accused those people of being mistaken, reminding them of the fact that this house was the home of ghost hunters so a ghost couldn't possibly hang around regularly. That's why it's not on the news or anything. I wondered if it was fact or fiction, and since I knew I had to warn you about Lyon being around, I figured I'd better just take my chances." He said with a shrug. "And look, I turned out to be right."

"So…you're a friendly ghost?" Tucker questioned.

"I'm not a ghost." Garth said. "I'm just an average guy who happened to get caught up in an accident. As I've already explained to them, I have a dragon amulet fused inside of me. Believe me, this wasn't my choice. But am I going to just carry on with my life in spite of it? Absolutely."

"Sweet, man!" Tucker thought it was cool, now that he knew a sliver of the guy's past. He tried to give Garth a high five but Garth just looked at him strangely. "You don't do high fives?" Tucker asked in disappointment.

Garth only gave Tucker an odd look. The older teen's hands did not move from the pockets of his navy blue sweatpants which he had on currently. "I just came here to report on what I knew of Lyon to Danny Phantom here. I don't intend to really stick around, sorry." Garth appeared to have trust issues, but this was no surprise to Danny who picked up on it. Tucker, however, remained clueless as a rock. Danielle didn't know what to think, but she hoped Garth would be back sometime.

"Do you go to that college nearby?" Danielle asked. "Bluebird Community College?"

Garth shook his head. "College is not for me. I've got a stable job that can pay the bills and put food on my table. I live alone. I know it's not exactly the "American dream" but it's good enough for me." He crossed his arms.

Danielle walked over to Tucker as she thought about how Garth's life sounded kind of sad. "Hey that was really great what you did with the thermos. I've never seen you that focused before." Tucker only laughed nervously and the two of them stepped off to the side so that Garth and Danny could talk about Danny's team. "Garth knows my secret." Danielle whispered as she gazed back down the house. She hid in the same place Tucker had stepped earlier and she transformed.

"Wait, WHAT?!" Tucker asked with wide eyes.

Danielle popped back up again, this time with her normal black ponytail. "Yup. Secret for secret, I guess. But he doesn't know Danny's. If Garth sticks around long enough, I don't doubt he'll figure it out eventually. He's older and smarter, so…"

"Hey, that still isn't fair. Granted, his powers are cool, and I'm all for adding onto our list of allies around town but don't you think it's a little early to be, you know, sharing certain secrets about your identity?"

Danielle just shrugged. "I don't know; maybe I was being a bit impulsive." She said awkwardly. She looked back at her brother as he and Garth continued to talk. She wanted to keep Tucker talking so she wouldn't be tempted to eavesdrop on their conversation back there. "So, let's talk about something different."

"Okay." Tucker sighed skeptically. "I know. Have you talked to Sam at all since the breakup?"

"Yeah, but, why? I saw her in the hall a few times. We were never really friends, you know. I mean, she's not exactly, er mad at Danny any more. She's just upset in general."

"In general?" Tucker asked. He had hoped since they were both girls, Danielle might be able to get a better reading on Sam's feelings. And since Danielle was a "third party" outside of the trio, Tucker also figured Sam might spill some things for that reason too.

"Yeah that's it. She knew I didn't like the thought of her dating Danny though. She's really smart about things like that."

"Reading people? Yeah. But you didn't tell me about this…how you actually felt about them dating. Because you didn't speak up, I didn't know you were against it."

Danielle shrugged with a slight feeling of guilt. "I know, I know. And it seemed like everyone else wanted them to get together. I saw them kiss around the time of that Disasteroid incident and I was like…whaaaat?! Then I was so graciously accepted into the family. After walking into his life so recently, I didn't feel like I had the right to act like I knew him better than she did."

Tucker nodded. "I see your point. I won't mention any of this to him, alright?" She nodded, and then the two of them walked back down into the house together. They sat on the couch and waited for Danny to finish things up with Garth. Jack and Maddie were in the basement cleaning things up for once, instead of working on some invention. Er, Maddie cleaned, but Jack probably just ate snack after snack.

Jazz came downstairs to get a snack of fruit herself and then she noticed Tucker. "Hey guys!" She greeted, forgetting about her hunger. "Danny is still up on the roof?" She asked.

Tucker nodded absent-mindedly. "Wait, how did you know?"

Jazz laughed lightly. "Come on, as if I couldn't hear the sounds of a fight! And of course, by sticking my head out just a bit, I could see a ghost boy and ghost girl flying around every once in a while." She winked. Her stomach growled and she headed into the kitchen. "Oh, I'd better go. I know you guys don't like me around that much."

"No, no!" Tucker said. "You're still part of the team, Jazz."

"Alright." She smiled as she joined them on the couch. "I know I'm pretty busy with senior year and all, but don't forget to keep me in the loop, okay?" Tucker and Danielle nodded and proceeded to tell her about Garth and the dragon incident which just occurred.

Meanwhile Garth asked Danny question after question, which got a bit boring and redundant. Danny's eyelids felt heavy and tired as he continued to talk about the small group of allied friends he called Team Phantom. "So when's the next meeting?" Garth asked finally.

"Uh…whenever we can get the whole team together." Danny droned in boredom. For a guy who kept implying he'd only appear when he felt like it, Garth seemed pretty interested in joining the group. "How about tomorrow?" Danny offered.

"Yeah. I think I can make it." Garth said casually, putting his hands in his pockets again. "I work odd hours that are sometimes unpredictable. But they're often in the late night when nobody else wants to work. So I get paid extra for coming in. Anyways, why do you choose to meet at this particular house?"

Danny scratched the back of his neck nervously. "Um, er, I'll explain that later."

"What do I do if a human answers the door?"

"They won't—" Danny started, but he didn't want a follow-up question so he just cut himself off. "Just…don't worry about it. Make sure you come back tomorrow at around six o'clock. Then you can get a proper introduction into our team."

Garth nodded silently and then walked away. Finally he was done asking questions! He changed back into his dragon form and flew off, leaving Danny to think. Danny quickly changed back when out of sight, before he walked back down into the house. Danny was somewhat relieved to see his sisters and best friend all on the couch.

"You're back! Yay!" Danielle exclaimed with a smile.

Danny just shrugged. "I'm going to go ahead and assume you've filled Jazz in…" Jazz nodded in reply. "Good. We're going to tell Garth the whole story soon. About us. I feel we can trust him. He works for the Guys in White and he's willing to help us by giving us inside information on them. I'm glad we ran into him. Tomorrow, at six, we have to have a meeting. Tucker, I'll need you to talk to Sam at school and try to get her to come. If it doesn't work," Danny sighed tiredly, "If she doesn't come, it'll be fine."

"Are you sure it's wise to tell Garth you're half human right away?" Jazz asked skeptically. "Because that's what you just implied. I think we should at least take a vote."

"Trust me on this, Jazz." Danny said.

"I dunno. He sounded like a pretty shady guy from Danielle and Tucker's description." Jazz elaborated. "He sounds like he's hiding something bigger than what he just told you all. He could be a spy of the Guys in White too. Do not forget he could be on their side to get your information too."

"That's a good point, but then, even if he was a spy, he's in the same boat as me." Danny asserted. "Being more than just an ordinary human guy, I mean. If he exposed me, in theory, he'd know I'd expose him. That is why I believe it's unlikely. Of course, I thought of that too. I'm not as clueless anymore, Jazz."

"O-okay." Jazz folded her arms. "You've got me there. I concede."

Danny nodded. "Well, now that we've come to an agreement, please excuse me while I go pass out on the floor from exhaustion." Danny mentioned. The others could only watch.

"But Danny! You told me I could come over after school so we could play Doomed!" Tucker reprimanded his friend. By the time he already stood up and walked over to Danny, the halfa was out cold. Tucker just sighed. He glanced back at the girls and a hopeful smile appeared on his face. "Anyone else want to try their luck in the game world with me?"

Danielle scoffed. "Psh, don't look at me…" She stood up and retreated to her bedroom.

Jazz could only laugh as she stood up as well. Tucker deflated. He looked back at Danny, who seemed so peaceful when asleep. Jazz quietly showed Tucker to the door where he shook her hand. She laughed at this and waved farewell. She continued to look out the window even after he had passed their street.

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**Hope you guys enjoy this chapter X3 I can't wait to see how long this story gets, since its already longer than I ever could have imagined. **


	11. Chapter 11

**Enjoy some Garth character development, as well as a main plot device, the weapon the Equator :O**

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**Chapter 11**

It was a lonely street that Garth Lloyd walked as he made his way to the government lab that he worked at. He had been working there since about the time he had dropped out of high school. The air was beginning to get nippy and lifeless—a typical fall. Just barely in Garth's view was the gigantic laboratory—a ghost's worst nightmare. Shrouded in the fogs of the night, many men worked late with the twisted intentions of learning more about ghosts for the supposed "benefit of mankind".

Garth was the exception; most other ghosts had learned to fear this place due to trial and error. Garth knew better though. The men who worked here were not honest souls and so they did whatever it took to acquire data. Because of their arrogance, the last place they'd check for a ghost was right under their own roof. That was where Garth was safest.

Garth had been working for the Guys in White for a while so he knew he had no reason to fear them because they were not capable of figuring out his secret with their general intellectual capabilities. Garth entered the lab like normal. Recently though Garth had begun to get antsy because of Mortimer Hazel and his breakthrough with his project. Mortimer was just like the other scientists in the lab—arrogant, selfish, and kind of heartless.

Garth had to balance his job and his secret identity while also plotting the invention's destruction. It was definitely going to become a serious threat to all ghosts everywhere if he didn't. How could he do the job without anyone noticing though? He didn't even know yet. He was so sure he could do it all by himself with no outside help. He had destroyed some work of the GIW before when they had started to get too close to creating something that was actually semi-intelligent.

And no one could make heads or tails of the missing items because Garth knew how to dispose of things well. Now he had Danny and his crew to wonder about. Garth didn't know if he could trust him, or if they would double-cross him just like some other ghosts had in the past. And then there was that one "princess" type girl Cecelia who never paid attention when Garth tried to teach her something that would help in her skills like she asked.

He didn't even want to train her in the first place but she had such a good attitude and never liked to give up. He had to admire that about her but pretty soon he was bound to run out of the patience that he only faked having in the first place. A lot of girls just were not cut out to fight but Cecelia was trying to force herself to go against that. She totally failed at it but she had a dedication which Garth had never seen the likes of before.

Sometimes Cecelia brought her friend Valerie over to the room too so that they could hang out together while waiting for their fathers to finish work. Valerie gave Cecelia tips when it seemed that Garth had run out. Garth knew Valerie and Valerie knew him, but they stayed out of each other's way. That is, until Cecelia and her father came along. After that, things had definitely changed in all their lives.

Garth entered the large white bricked room and walked up the stairs into the hallway where the employee lockers were. He put on his lab coat and took his clipboard in his left arm and a pen in his hand as well. This was simple routine—his body moved automatically. He never failed to keep his guard up though and he watched observantly. He figured he wasn't likely to see his best friend Vincello around the building at this hour but if he did. Then at least he'd have someone to talk to. Vincello was one of the few other people in the world who knew Garth's secret about his powers and helped him bear its burden.

In silence, Garth walked on past the locker area and near the empty storage room where Cecelia had been practicing her martial arts for the past several days. Garth looked in through the door where it was open just a crack. There were Cecelia and Valerie practicing their kicking and trying to improve precision and timing. Garth could hear them shouting—one, two, one, two—over and over. Garth was proud of them for aiming for such physical prowess. He just wished he wasn't stuck with them himself.

Glad that the girls had not spotted him as of yet, Garth walked to a desk in another nearby room which he had access to. Any room would do once he had clocked in. He looked around to make sure all of the other technicians were busy, and then he began to enter a series of letters and numbers into the computer. _These fools_, he thought to himself, obviously knowing that his intelligence was superior.

The computer soon registered the sequence on the screen. Garth had reached the mainframe of the building's computer network, which was off-limits to technicians. He had kind of "hacked" it, but he didn't like the way that sounded. He preferred just the word "accessed". Then again, hopefully no one would be around to remember he had "accessed it", or THEY would have themselves a problem!

Garth could have made it big in this sort of sneaky profession. But it just wasn't his cup of tea. He needed a little more…bite. A little more risk. His whole life he had never felt safe or secure and for years he had hidden a secret that could turn his family more against him than they were already. So why stop the rush now? Tension was fun…Garth never knew what would happen to him next.

Would he get caught for taking matters into his own hands? Surely not! Surely…not. The whole fate of his career future pended on keeping the job he needed. After all, if he didn't have his eye on the inside of what the anti-ghost subculture was plotting next, he could not sleep at night. No way. "That should do it." Garth said to himself at a low volume no one could hear. The screen that showed the number of days that Garth was absent from work had dropped from "twelve" to "four". This pleased Garth.

If he was fired for absence, there was no way he could get back in to destroy Mortimer's machine even when he did come up with a plan. If that was so, then the whole fate of the ghost world was in danger! He wasn't going to do this for the ghosts though, but for himself and his friends. Besides, if certain ghosts Garth knew got destroyed, he could never find out the meaning or potential regarding his amulet. He shut off the hacked network and slipped away from the computer. As he backed away, trying to seem as nonchalant and innocent as possible, a dull technician accidentally bumped into him.

"Watch where you're going." Garth muttered quietly.

"Sorry. I need you to report to Mortimer Hazel in his office right away." The man droned, not even making eye contact with Garth.

Garth immediately changed his course of action and took an elevator lift to the new office. It was suspicious…suspicious indeed. Had he been found out? No…no way. Mind readers didn't exist. They couldn't possibly exist. And he couldn't let them. He had covered his tracks well and he had to trust himself.

"Mr. Lloyd, welcome." The shady-looking Mortimer said as Garth entered the somewhat dark room. Garth's whole body stiffened automatically. Garth looked around to see Cecelia, Valerie, Mr. Gray, and two other work men of the GIW all gathered in the room along with Mortimer. They stood around a projector screen. Garth had wondered why Cecelia hadn't come looking for him—she had probably been lassoed by someone to come here and partake in this mysterious summon. Garth crossed his muscly arms.

One of the men in the room, who was a tall, middle-aged hunk, looked at Garth. The man was strong and serious with lifeless beady black eyes. Garth knew the guy was a bit of a nimrod though, and easily thrown off. "Since you are Cecelia's overseer, I thought it fir that you should be here to see this." His voice was his mask. He didn't want his true intelligence level to be evident. Lucky for him, his kind was easily fooled.

Garth gave no comment in response. So another of the men spoke up then. "Mr. Hazel has merged one of our devices and a theory of his to create a hybrid technology—one that will allow us to track ghosts." He paced around, probably thinking he was so cool wearing his white suit and black sunglasses into work. "Since I am in constant contact with the CEO of the Guys in White, I have heard he has decided that Cecelia and Valerie are the best for the job—effective immediately."

"What job?" Valerie asked. Garth wondered the same thing, but he didn't speak. No, he kept his thoughts to himself as always. Vincello would be the only person to hear of this. And that would be much later. If Garth ever needed help, Vincello was the only person he sort-of trusted. Then again, Garth's trust could easily be broken.

"Tracking ghosts." The two unnamed men answered. Mortimer just looked at them strangely. He knew exactly what they were talking about. His pallid face was cryptic and unreadable. Nobody knew quite what he was thinking.

"How?" Damon Gray asked to anyone who could answer.

"I think it would be best if Hazel could explain this one." One of the other men said.

Mortimer sighed as all eyes fell on him. He wasn't expecting to be put on spot since this was their idea. "Well, as you all must know by now, my project is coming closer to its completion. Once a ghost's DNA is fed into this machine, it registers it permanently and can tell the rough distance that said ghost is from the machine. It can also determine which direction the ghost is in from our starting point. For example, if a ghost was in the sky, the weapon would easily register this information on its 3-dimensional indicator."

"That's genius, dad!" Cecelia interjected proudly with that distant, spacey, yet excitable look in her eyes.

"Now we're really getting somewhere!" Valerie smiled. She and Cecelia laughed to each other, but Garth was skeptical.

"And you two can start by tracking down that Danny Phantom pest at your school." Mortimer explained as he pulled out two small dark grey metallic weapons and handed them to the girls. "He is a nuisance, as I have read in many reports. He's caused many catastrophes but tries to cover them up with heroic deeds. When things get down to the wire, I'm sure it will soon become clear what side he's really on."

"That's what I'm talkin' about!" Cecelia and Valerie said in unison, grinning widely. They each took one of the weapons eagerly.

Garth's mind pulled up a red flag. Danny. Danny would soon be in danger. And it was Garth's duty to warn him. But for sure the GIW would want his help with the project. How would he be able to play both sides? Things might get tricky. "Excuse me—did you say Danny Phantom?" Garth asked. Everyone turned and stared at him.

"Yes in fact I did." Mortimer answered. "He's a well-known fiend who has shown up several times at my daughter's current school. And he often _rudely _interrupts Axion Lab's normal routines. I think it's about time that he and all other ghosts were justly taken care of."

"What did you have in mind, dad?" Cecelia asked as Mortimer began to help her and Valerie to install the weapon into their suits.

"I was thinking maybe you could bring him to me—alive—and I could test out the Equator using him as the first subject." The man explained. "He's a teenager, so this should be easy for you ladies. It's a brilliant plan."

"So that's what you're going to call your big machine? The Equator?" Valerie asked. "And then you're going to turn the Phantom's ghostly energy into electricity?"

"Precisely."

"What about all the other ghosts?" Damon piped up. He had been recording all the details of this business meet on his clipboard. Garth felt a little squirmy and restless. He could only shudder at the thought of what kind of dirty work he might be asked—er, _told_—to do.

"Before you know it, Cecelia and Valerie will be able to capture and detain ghosts tens of times more powerful than that Phantom kid. And by then the world will be a few steps closer to being ghost-free." Mortimer continued, showing off the girls' new suit installments. "These girls will become heroes. And I believe in them." He smiled—a rare thing. Cecelia and Valerie were surprised by it. Everybody in the room clapped except for Garth.

Lucky for Garth, nobody even seemed to notice him. All the praise was directed at Mortimer. Garth sighed almost hopelessly; he didn't feel like clapping. Really…just…no. He actually felt like throwing up right now. Danny Phantom? Ghost tracking? After all this time would Garth's perfect plan finally come to its foil? And so close to what could have been its proper conclusion? Would he be able to locate Danny Phantom in time? That was the real question. The ghost boy had some places he frequented but for the most part he was a wild card.

Garth left the room and relieved a technician of the task of sorting letters—a tedious task—but one that would definitely give Garth a chance to think the next few steps of his life through. He did not believe Danny Phantom to be a fiend or a menace; but more of an unappreciated hero based on the way he acted. Those stupid scientists…only saw what they wanted to see. After Garth's shift was over, he went to his locker and put his lab coat and clipboard away. Finally he could go home and relax in peace and quiet. Or at least that's what he thought. Cecelia appeared behind him. She had startled him, but he did not give a reaction. "Why did I get the feeling that earlier today you did not want me hunting ghosts?" She asked, staring blankly.

"Because I _did_ feel that way." Garth replied casually.

"Why?" Cecelia asked slowly, pretending she was suspicious.

Garth stammered. "I-I-It's too dangerous. If that Phantom kid is more powerful than you, the fight won't last very long." His facades were always convincing; so she bought it, despite it being only part of the truth.

"Look." Cecelia put her hands on her hips and smiled challengingly. "I've been given a job and I take it. I want nothing more than to please my father and rid the world of these…monsters. Now, is that really too much to ask for?" Garth gave no reply. "Because I can guarantee you that I will _not_ disappoint my father." She started to walk away, thinking she had taken the last laugh. But their talk wasn't over yet.

Garth didn't follow her because he knew his voice could be heard clear as crystal no matter the distance between them. "Don't let him know." He said. "Don't."

"Huh?" She turned around and blinked twice.

"Don't let Danny Phantom know that you're tracking him."

"…Thanks for the advice." She resumed her walking. She tried to pretend like she understood why he said that, but he really didn't.

The main reason was because Garth did not want her to harden her heart and make it cold. He believed it was possible for some kind of restoration for her when the truth came out…when she found out Danny was really a good guy. Garth wanted her to see that someday too but knew that couldn't come now. So he just made his way home then, walking onwards into the cold outside. Whatever move he made right now could only worsen the situation…unless he got Danny involved, and fast. How was he ever going to find him in time?!

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**Don't forget to review if ya like it :)**


	12. Chapter 12

**In this chapter there is major suspense. Valerie and Cecelia have a run-in with Danny Phantom when Technus attacks the lab at night and Cecelia almost died. This chapter is about trust. Enjoy!**

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**Chapter 12**

As the image of Garth disappeared into the background of Cecelia's memory, she continued walking over to where her best friend Valerie was still inspecting her new weapon, probably fantasizing over the boss way she could fight ghosts with it. Not too far away from her was Damon Gray getting ready to go home. "Why are you in such a rush to leave?" Cecelia asked Valerie casually. "I know it's late, but…"

"I want to test out this new weapon tonight. If a ghost comes into the lab, I'll be ready. We're heading over to Axion right now. It's time for my dad's shift."

Cecelia gasped with excitement. "Could I come with you?" She smiled. "If I've got a chance to get in on some action I'll take it! Just like anyone, I know the rumors about that place…how it's haunted and all." She started gearing up to go out before Valerie had even agreed or gotten permission from her dad. "I really don't have any plans." Cecelia added.

"Dad?" Valerie wanted to get her father's opinion.

"Sure." Damon agreed. "As long as it's fine with your father."

Both girls smiled, then took one glance down the hall towards Mortimer. He would be busy for hours signing all kinds of paperwork with his coworkers and bossed. This was the perfect time for Cecelia to prove herself and make him proud. She found herself very hyper all of a sudden and giddy with excitement. Valerie picked up on that immediately and just rolled her eyes. Cecelia joined Valerie and Damon on the drive over.

Late at night in Axion labs, almost all the workers had gone home for the day except for a few miscellaneous janitors here and there. Damon went up into his office doing some late-night organization of paperwork which he had been putting off. Cecelia and Valerie had assured him that with their weapons and the current security systems, no ghost would cause trouble tonight. If anyone tried, they'd get him. Valerie even made a little wager with him that if they could catch a ghost, they'd get paid.

Cecelia half wanted there to be an attack so she could get a rush, but then again, she was also kind of scared on the other hand and didn't like to face conflicts. She and Valerie sat on the floor of a large circular room near the main entrance as they had gotten tired of standing. The world carried on in dark silence. "Wow this place sure is creepy after hours." She stated.

"Shh! You don't want the ghosts to hear you!" Valerie warned.

Cecelia stood up and laughed. "What? Come on, it's probably close to midnight now. We've been here for hours. There are no ghosts here! In fact, I've _never_ seen a ghost here! I'm beginning to think this place was never haunted in the first place."

"Will ya sit down!" Valerie found it hard to whisper when trying to give Cecelia a tone. "Listen to that, genius. What do you hear?" Cecelia became quiet and still. She and Valerie could hear soft noises from outside. It didn't sound human. There was moaning and wailing and clashing and screaming—the signs of a fight! Valerie pulled Cecelia into the shadows of the room. Cecelia was caught off-guard so she started to say something but Valerie covered her mouth before she could. "Are you ready?" Valerie whispered as the two of them bent over in a corner that seemed to swallow them up.

"Yes." Cecelia answered. Valerie nodded. They both suited up and turned on their new tracking weapons. It was time to put the equipment to the test and find out what it felt like to kick butt with cool blasters. They had to be prepared for at any moment…a foul specter could invade. Their blood seemed to boil as the tension rose. Nothing happened. Not yet anyways.

But accidents always occurred when least expected. That's why the girls had to keep expecting it. The enemy liked to wait until the opponent's guard was down. Of course a thing so vile like a ghost probably planned its every move…but it couldn't account for the girls being here! Valerie hated having to wait for it…any second now…they would come.

Suddenly, a gigantic glass window shattered before their eyes. The girls had to refrain from gasping so as not to aware the ghosts of their presence. Cecelia felt like her heart had burst, but no, what was just the "fight or flight" sort of feeling. A warning to run. But she abandoned all common sense for this one day. Valerie hadn't backed down or even flinched. If Cecelia ran out now, Valerie would take her for a coward.

As the fragments of glass cleared away, there on the floor lie Danny Phantom with his suit all torn up. He moaned in pain. The girls didn't know what to make of this yet. Had someone thrown him in, or was he just faking injury to lure out security guards? The girls looked to each other for the answer, but neither of them knew.

Someone else flew in after the kid. This time it was a man, a full ghost, and a rather creepy one too. "Yes! I'm finally inside! Bless my sweet—TECHNOLOGY! Look at all of these electronic apparatuses! Such electromagnetic perfection in harmonic symmetrical beauty!" A green-faced ghost with a grey mullet and a cape flew around the lab taking technology as he pleased. He had no care for the equipment as he ripped full pieces of objects apart from each other. He only took what he wanted and left the rest behind.

"Let's get Danny Phantom while he's down!" Valerie whispered to Cecelia. "That's my call. After him, we'll get that other creep. Deal?" Valerie started to go, but Cecelia held her back. The red huntress gave Cecelia a confused look.

"Wait! What if the ghost boy's actually trying to _stop_ that other guy? Why else would he have been all banged up anyway?" Cecelia inquired.

Valerie scoffed. "We don't have time for you to over-think things. I thought a fight was what you've been waiting for! That ghost probably just used the ghost kid to break the glass. But if you wanna go after that man alone, then be my guest. I'm going to go capture me a ghost teen." Valerie wiggled out of Cecelia's grasp and marched right up in front of Danny. He didn't have enough energy to resist. She put some blue glowing handcuffs around him that she had sealed away in her back pocket for something like this. She felt pretty proud of herself too. "At last," She grinned, "I've got you…!"

Cecelia argued with herself for a moment but then went with her gut feeling and split. She ran over to the room where the middle-aged ghost was robbing the lab. Cecelia just stood there with her weapon aimed and ready to fire. She almost thought she had lost him but it was his careless loud noises that gave him away. Cecelia braced herself and tried…TRIED to make a clever quip. But it came out all wrong. "You've destroyed enough of this laboratory. Now prepare to be…toast…?" She had her weapon aimed and just had to wait a second for it to charge up. She could hear its sound.

He turned around. "Stupid child! Did you really think you could defeat the great Technus with your inferior technology?!" A maniacal laughter followed.

Cecelia gasped in her own hesitation. Why couldn't she fire? She had expected her blast to be released already but nothing happened! The weapon worked just fine but she didn't have it in her to pull the trigger all the way. Its energy was ready but she wasn't ready to use it. At the ghost's command, a jumper cable hovered in midair and then wrapped itself around Cecelia's body to render her useless in the fight.

"Help! HEEELP!" That was all poor Cecelia could scream out. She was choking, gasping for air. Was this it? Because of one stupid move, her life was going to be over? Looking back in these few seconds she had left, she mentally kicked herself for being so foolish. Who was she to think she could handle this? She had been in over her head the whole time, pretending to be a fighter when she was not and never could be. She was just a scared little girl inside.

There were so many things she hadn't done yet like go to prom, go to a concert with friends, run away from home, or fall in love…now it was over. This was it for her. When she could no longer breathe at all, she closed her eyes and tried to tune the world out so she could go in peace. She even stopped resisting. She was no fighter.

But somebody else _was_…and he wasn't about to let any poor human die on the account of an evil ghost's rampage. Before Cecelia knew what was going on, an unknown person fired ectobeams and plasma beams at the green ghost who called himself Technus. "Aah! You cannot defeat me either, ghost child!" Technus bellowed. Cecelia heard the sounds, but she could not think right as she had been slowly losing consciousness. Her brain panicked, but her body did not want to respond—it wanted to give up.

Danny Phantom wouldn't let her do that. When the girl started to feel loosened again, she opened her eyes immediately. Cecelia was surprised to see what she saw—Valerie _and_ Danny Phantom battling the intruder _together_. And now Cecelia seemed not to be so afraid. Valerie seemed to be doing a pretty good job at holding off Technus, so Danny decided to free Cecelia. When Technus was distracted by Valerie, the equipment he was controlling didn't have as much of a hold on Cecelia as he wanted, so Danny was easily able to get her out so she could breathe again. She gasped as she took in several deep breaths of air.

Freedom? At last? And it had really come…because of HIM? "What are you doing?" Cecelia asked him as he destroyed the rampant electric cord with one blast.

When he looked at her they immediately made eye contact. But it wasn't a clash of wits between them like Cecelia would have expected, but more of a connection. She wondered if he thought so to. "You're welcome." He said and immediately turned his attention to Technus. His voice had shaken her out of her little daze. For some reason she wished she could get a better look at him but he flew away fast despite the injuries he had. He immediately went on to attack Technus and wouldn't stop till he won.

Cecelia was still puzzled. "Thank…you?" She got up slowly and reached for her weapons.

"Well don't just stand there, Cecelia!" Valerie yelled. "Let's take this overgrown booger down!" Valerie and Cecelia hit Technus with their most powerful shots over and over. Sure their aim wasn't dead on but they definitely hit him multiple times and…it did nothing.

Technus reveled in their frustration and had hacked into the computer's core. He downloaded energy and information and with every second he gained more power from the electrical charges and waves. "You cannot stop me!" He laughed maniacally. "You will always lose!" He fired a massive beam from the palm of his hand. It hit Valerie and knocked her out cold.

"No!" Cecelia cried out and reached for Valerie automatically. Danny glared at Technus. The brunette wasn't thinking—a blast hit her as well. Danny was fervently trying to figure out how to beat Technus when he was this powerful. Of course he had to nip the bud and choke of Technus's power at the source, but, he had to avoid getting killed first!

Danny impulsively shot a blast at Technus that could distract him for a moment. As Technus had been pushed closer to new equipment he could feast his eyes on, Danny took advantage of this opportunity. "Finally!" Danny said as he pulled his handy thermos from his belt. At last Danny pulled out his winning card and could send this joker into the cylindrical prison he belonged in! Danny smirked as he activated it.

"No! Child!" Technus wailed as the thermos sucked him in.

Danny sealed the cap tight and then looked over to the two sleeping girls. He shrugged. "They'll be okay." He thought to himself, forgetting his own injuries. He was grateful he had been able to convince Valerie to team up with him against the enemy back there. If she hadn't had a brief change of heart and put up a temporary truce, all three teens would be toast by now. He nudged both of the girls to wake them up. As much as he wanted to just leave them, he kind of had to help by telling them more about Technus.

Valerie was the first to stir. "What? What do you want with me, ghost?" She asked, half-conscious. Then she looked up at the ghost boy who was standing there and she blinked twice. "Oh, it's you, Phantom." She stood up because she didn't know if he would attack or not. "What did you do with the other ghost? Did you actually defeat him?"

"I…uh chased him away. He won't be bothering you anymore." Danny mentioned. He wanted to glare at her for a bit because of that "actually" part, but that would only make her mad.

"Then why are you still here?" She remarked.

"Danny…?" Cecelia rubbed her eyes hazily as she woke up. Valerie and Danny looked to her then. The red huntress helped her friend stand up. Cecelia felt her forehead where there was a bit of an ache and slowly she realized parts of her body ached too. No doubt she would have some bruises and if she wore her typical tank top and shorts around anytime soon, people would ask questions. This ghost fighting stuff was serious business—she had run into problems she never would have thought of before!

Danny sighed. "Remember our deal, Va—I mean hunter-lady? You freed me so that I can save your friend and then I'll turn myself in to you." He held out his arms in surrender. She could have easily cuffed his wrists as they were right in front of her eyes.

Valerie put her hands on her hips. "And to think you could have just flown away and we wouldn't have stopped you. Psh, you could have gone home." She pointed out. She just realized it as she said it that he really COULD have gotten away scotch free. But something kept him here. Honesty? Since when did ghosts have morals? Valerie was so confused. That blast really messed with her head. Was this a trick?

"That ghost we just fought, his name's Technus. To state the obvious, he likes to absorb technology to better himself and is obsessed with power. Suffice it to say, all of your lab's technology is still here; it's just broken, scattered, and jumbled. But it's not beyond repair. I was able to apprehend—I mean scare Technus off, so he just kind of…dropped it all." Danny explained. "Now let's cut to the chase. Are you going to capture me or not?"

* * *

**What do you think will happen?**

**Please review :D thanks, all!**


	13. Chapter 13

**EDIT 3-4-25: For some reason this once said ch 12... now its fixed. Ch 13 is here! **

* * *

**Chapter 13**

Valerie hesitated. She hadn't expected him to be so honest…and humble. Here he was, Danny Phantom, offering himself to her to be her captive. He wasn't bluffing but he was betting on her trust and the humanity inside of her. Valerie stammered out something but it wasn't understandable. She could feel her face heating up as the ghost boy and her best friend Cecelia just stared at her.

Eventually Valerie's eyes fell on Cecelia and the brunette picked up on the dilemma as quickly as if she had read Valerie's own thoughts. "Go." Cecelia said to Danny mercifully. He seemed to be surprised, but then again he wasn't completely. He had been hoping they'd have a complete change of heart but he had to act astounded so as to look more grateful.

"What?!" Valerie turned around and glared at Cecelia. "We'll _never_ catch him again. And right now he's practically handed himself over to us."

"If it weren't for him, we'd probably both be dead right now." Cecelia pointed out. "So I think we owe it to him to at least give him a sporting chance before we start hunting him again."

Valerie crossed her arms and lowered her eyebrows. She did _not_ look pleased at all. "Go." She commanded grimly. "Go on, get out of here, ghost punk!"

Danny took the opportunity and phased through the wall and at a rapid pace, he flew across the midnight sky happily. He was also anxious to get home. He had a smile on his face as he flew, though he did not realize it.

Cecelia sighed as she watched Danny fly out and get farther and farther away. Then she turned around, knowing she'd have to face Valerie. She didn't like the thought of a disagreement coming between their friendship any more than Valerie did. Cecelia noticed Valerie was still glaring at her so she would have to produce some kind of defense. "Well…he _did_ save us. Maybe he's not as bad as you think. I think he deserves a second chance, just for tonight."

Valerie was still unamused. "He's still a ghost—a pest—and an apparition. He has no right to come into my father's lab and take part in destruction, no less! He could have even lured that other ghost here! We don't know what all he's capable of!"

"I know, Val. But you should at least consider the possibility that he is not totally evil. How can you be so unforgiving?"

"How can you be so…stupid?!" Valerie blurted out. Cecelia gasped in shock and started to walk away from her as there was awkward silence. "Wait, wait, I didn't mean that! I'm sorry! It just sort of…slipped out." For a moment there, Valerie kind of felt like Danny—hoping for a second chance when forgiveness seemed impossible. Valerie's whole world hung on her words. Words could either make or break a person and now she had potentially broken one of the best friendships she'd ever had. "Cecelia!" Valerie walked after her. "Come on, I said I didn't mean it…you know I didn't."

"Doesn't feel so good to be on the outside, huh?" Cecelia asked. Valerie shrugged in response. "I'll forgive you, but only if you won't be so hard on that Phantom kid the next time you run into him. Deal?" Valerie waited a moment first but eventually agreed. They shook on it and Cecelia smiled slightly.

Valerie walked away and changed out of her suit and Cecelia did the same. It was about time they tended to their own injuries and worked out some kind of explanation to tell Damon. It was a wonder he hadn't heard any of the noise. "So are we cool? I'd really rather not lose the best friend I ever had over something silly like this." Valerie asked. Cecelia gave a nod. "Alright. Ghost hunting is a big deal to me, okay? Keep that in mind please. My teachers look at my grades and say I'm a slacker; that I'll never amount to anything. And I have the most hideous job in the entire high school."

"You're the Nasty Burger mascot."

"Yeah. And for the first time in my life, ghost hunting made me feel right. It's something I'm good at and it's also a way to relieve my stress. I dunno if you understand this, but succeeding at _it_ is making up for _failing_ the rest of my life. I've gotta let it out somehow."

"Then I won't let you down." Cecelia determined.

"Thanks," Valerie smiled, "Best friend." And they shared a hug. Whatever they said to Damon, they would face the consequences together. At least all the equipment from the lab was still here even if it wasn't in the right place. And another evil ghost bit the dust thanks to…Danny Phantom. Valerie and Cecelia were sure to leave it vague though as to who really extinguished the technology-obsessed ghost. Valerie and Cecelia didn't get paid and they did have to clean up the damage in the lab but all the while they thought up ways to improve their ghost-hunting technique.

That next morning, Danny was sure to tell Tucker all about his encounter with Cecelia and Valerie. Now that Valerie had an official little helper, she was twice as dangerous and also twice the liability. That afternoon was time for the meeting at the Fenton house. How was Danny supposed to lead a meeting when he felt like he hadn't slept a wink at all last night?

Hopefully the new member Garth wouldn't look down on him for it if he zoned out in the middle of an explanation of something. Danny made sure his parents had something to do that would occupy them while Danny invited Tucker, Garth, and Sam over. Well, Tucker had invited Sam due to Danny chickening out. Garth thought it was awkward as he walked up the front steps to ring the doorbell to a home he didn't know.

Someone opened the door. "Why hello there! Who are you?" A middle-aged redhead woman in a blue jumpsuit asked. She let Garth inside.

Before Garth could answer, someone else butted in. "He's a friend of mine." A black-haired teenage boy took Garth by his arm and tugged him up the stairs.

"Who are _you_?" Garth asked then.

"You're here for the Team meeting, right?" The younger guy asked. Garth gave a nod. "Well you're late." He mentioned as he and Garth walked into a bedroom. There sat Danielle and Tucker, whom Garth had met earlier. This time there was another girl with shoulder-length black hair and who sat next to Tucker with her arms folded in her lap. Also there was an orange-haired girl who looked a little older, possibly closer to Garth's age. This group left Garth to wonder where the big hero leader was.

"So what do we do first?" Danielle asked as soon as everyone was seated down in a circle on the floor. The six of them all being there together made the room feel smaller.

"Introductions." Tucker answered. "Garth, since you're new, we're all going to let you in on a little secret. We've all decided to let you in on the group officially and for it you kind of have to know something…"

Garth only watched as the black-haired boy transformed into none other than Danny Phantom.

"Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. Are you ghost _and_ human?" Garth looked at both of them.

"Yes." Danny answered with a sense of relief. "I'm Danny Phantom _and_ Danny Fenton. And she's Danielle Fenton _and_ Dani Phantom. We're the halfas."

"But…why?" Garth didn't know the right question to ask. He was speechless. The knowledge of the halfas might be common knowledge in the ghost zone but Garth had never even heard the term. Though without a proper definition, just by observation he could probably guess what it meant now.

"It was an accident that gave me my powers. And Danielle is my clone—my parents just adopted her. So now she's my sister. This here is Jazz. She's my blood sister. Even though we look nothing alike." Danny explained, which cued an eye roll from the redhead. "But my parents know nothing about the powers Danielle and I have being half ghost and all, so keep it on the down low."

"Okay…" Garth was still dumbfounded. He had never seen the likes of a human who could transform freely though.

In the silence, the goth girl took it upon herself to make her introduction to the new teammate. "I'm Sam Manson. I don't think I've met you." Garth's attention turned to the girl who was sitting next to Tucker and they made eye contact briefly. Garth didn't have time to respond before Danny took the floor again.

"Today we need to find out why all of these dragons are attacking me." Danny announced as he changed into his human form again.

"Well now that they see you and I are on the same side, they have even more of a reason to attack you." Garth mentioned reluctantly. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean for it to be that way at all. I just kind of rushed into things without thinking. I have no idea why they had a beef with you before you met me though…"

While Garth continued to talk, Sam leaned in to whisper to Tucker's ear. "What's so special about this guy?" She asked.

"He's half-dragon." Tucker whispered back stoically.

"Oh." Sam then realized just what that meant. "What?! Why is it that you always seem to leave out that kind of information when you tell me things?!" Tucker just shrugged. He knew he had left out some important detail but couldn't remember what. The group discussion continued. Garth didn't know the right time to throw in his little bit about Mortimer Hazel's new weapon. Maybe Garth would just have to talk to Danny after the meeting was officially closed. Garth didn't know these people, so there was no telling whether or not they would panic in lou of his news.

"Danielle and I did our research on the Ghost Zone and we discovered that everything we know about the dragons' realm points to Lyon becoming the new Prince." Jazz spoke up. "As agreed on, we have found some hard-hitting information. I'll forward copies of the pages to everyone tonight."

"Good work, Jazz." Danny said, giving her a fist bump. "Anyone got anything else to report?"

"Wait a second. I still don't think we know enough about the situation yet. I suggest that we go into the ghost zone and ask one of our more hospitable allies." Sam added. "How about Pandora?"

"Yeah! That's a great idea." Danny said. And then he looked at Garth's confused face. "You have absolutely no idea what's going on here, do you?" Garth shook his head. "Well you're about to learn." Danny smiled. "Everybody stand up. We have lots of work to do." Danny peeked out the bedroom door down the hallway to make sure the coast was clear of his parents and then he led the group down to the basement.

"Whoa." Garth looked all around the Fenton lab. He eyed all the weapons in particular. Now this was his cup of tea! He was thoroughly impressed with Danny's parents already, but then again, he hadn't met Jack yet. After just a few seconds of knowing Jack, Garth would understand some of Danny's life frustrations a bit better. "This looks a lot like the place where I work. Only _here_ is much, uh, homier. Sorry, I'm not that good with my words." He shrugged it off.

"Where do you work?" Sam asked.

"I work at the Government Guys in White building."

"What?" Sam looked at him strangely.

"Wait, this doesn't have to be a bad thing, Sam. Think about it—we can use this to our advantage." Tucker said. "We could use a fella on the inside. Kind of like a double agent."

"Yeah. Garth, have the Guys in White been doing anything ghost-related lately?" Jazz asked him. "I mean, er, more than usual?"

"Lately? I've been working for them for three years. And they've always been a bit over-the-top obsessed with ghosts. They're supposed to be scientists who research historical evidence to prove the existence of ghosts and other such beings through chemistry and a series of biological sample tests. But they've fixated on this one small process. Now they've hired this Dr. Hazel from who-knows-where to build this super-weapon for them that turns ghost energy into electricity. And they specifically want _you_." Garth pointed at Danny. "Danny Phantom. I just heard about all this news last night when I went to take my shift."

"Me?" Danny asked. His heart began to pound thinking of how horrible it would feel to get turned into something like that! A shiver rolled up his back and he shuddered.

"Yes. But I'm telling you this so that you'll at least have a chance. They've got these two girls—Valerie and Cecelia—on the hunt for you. Valerie knows martial arts and she's teaching Cecelia. Unfortunately Cecelia asked me to train her first and I'll admit I helped her out, but I didn't know it would come to this. I didn't know she'd end up working to destroy ghosts. Every day that I see them they're practicing another high kick or throwing a punch. Let's hope you don't run into them." Garth frowned.

"I've known Valerie since we were freshmen. We go to school together—"

"And you're practically _dating_ her." Sam butted in.

Danny ignored that. "We're in the same class. But Cecelia? I really don't know her. I did run into her though, last night, when I fought a ghost named Technus. Yes I was in the lab. Cecelia sits with Valerie almost every day at lunch but that's about the only time I see her. I saved her and Valerie and the lab from being destroyed in Technus's rampage. Afterwards, I was going to honor a deal I made with Valerie to let her take me captive but Cecelia told me to go free. This has left me to wonder about her and how dedicated she really is to killing ghosts." Danny pressed a button and the circular doorway of the ghost portal opened, revealing a green and eerie world. "This…is the ghost zone. It's their world, and it's where we deposit the full thermoses." Danny explained. Tucker handed him a thermos which he connected to a part of machinery. It activated and five ghosts were sent swirling into their green home realm.

"It's just like I remember…unfortunately." Garth said to himself. "But you've got all these gadgets and all, so it looks like you have the advantage."

"So we're all in agreement on Pandora, right?" Danny asked. "Last chance to voice opinions. I want to settle this thing now. Any help is appreciated and Pandora might know something we don't." Everyone nodded. As there were no objections, Danny started walking towards a large mechanical vehicle. "We'll have to take the Specter Speeder." He reminded his friends.

"I'll drive." Sam volunteered. The six of them piled in but Garth hesitated. Tucker and Jazz grabbed ahold of him and pulled him in then. Sam turned it on and the rockets roared.

"What is this thing?!" Garth asked, looking around trying to take it all in. there were so many control panels. Since he was in the back, he didn't get a seatbelt.

"It is the only vehicle capable of going into the ghost zone _and_ coming back." Danny explained as he buckled in. He was in the passenger's seat and the other four were in the back. It went without saying that they knew they had to grab onto something and hold tight. Garth didn't know what to make of the strange smell. Was it ecto-goop or exhaust?

"I know the way to Pandora." Sam announced. "Don't worry, guy; you're in good hands."

"Let's just hope she'll be willing to help us." Danny said as they took off into the green world, leaving Fenton Works behind. Garth watched out of the seared window—the portal hole got smaller and smaller. Fear built up inside of him. He didn't know what he'd do if they got lost or ran into some trouble. He'd panic…or worse.


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

Garth felt a shiver of cold go up his spine as he carefully observed the ghost world. It was like the memory of his past had been revived and he hated it. He always had the thought in the back of his mind that someday he would need to conquer what he feared in the past. He just didn't want today to be the day…or any day to be it, really. He swallowed hard and tried to keep his poker face on as usual.

That was one of the constancies for Garth—no matter what life threw at him, even if it hurt him, he would not let it show. Besides, the rest of this motley crew were too distracted to even get an agreement on what all to say to this Pandora person Garth had never heard of before. The youngest member had tried to get some music going for the trip but nobody liked the songs that happened to come up on her iPod.

She just rolled her eyes as the redhead and goth argued about things to say. Then the techno geek joined in. Danny could only look back at Garth awkwardly and try to convince him it wasn't always like this, but when it was, the group always came to a level-headed compromise when needed. Surprisingly Garth was not bothered by the arguing and he actually seemed used to the chaotic environment.

"There's the realm of the mythical buildings." Tucker pointed out, interrupting the girls' debate. "Better hurry up and agree on SOMETHING or else we'll have come all this way for NOTHING."

"Hey, Tucker's right." Jazz said, looking around. "Everyone, I think we need to sugarcoat it a bit, beat around the bush, and whatnot. We want to make sure Pandora will be on our side, right?"

"I'm telling you, being blunt and straightforward is the best way to go!" Sam argued. "We don't want her to think we're trying to trick her. And besides, we haven't got all day. She doesn't either."

"Why can't you just agree on something in the middle?" Garth asked. Some of the others stared at him in turn, and he shrugged in the silence, regretting having said anything at all.

"There's Pandora." Danny identified her and pointed for the sake of those who hadn't seen her before. Garth got a good look, but at first glance, he was kind of intimidated. She was a huge ghost who looked very powerful.

"Hello." Pandora appeared in her large and warrior-like form, wearing helmet and armor. The expression on her face was a neutral mystery, so her mood was a wild card as well. She was glad to see Danny and his friends again though. "What are all of you doing all the way out here? Is something wrong?"

"Yes, actually." Danny spoke for the group. Bravely, he phased through the top of the vehicle and then sat on top of it. In the ghost zone, the humans were the ghosts. So he could phase right through with no problem. The others piled up against the window so they could get a better view. "There's a relative of Aragon's—his name is Lyon. I've heard that he's going to be the new Prince of their realm someday."

"Someday? That _someday_ is about three months from now." Pandora explained.

"And Lyon keeps attacking me." Danny admitted. "Why?"

"He probably sees you as a threat—he wants to make sure that all ghosts will serve him and there are none left to rebel—which means that he thinks it possible for you to overthrow him." Pandora answered. "You're a famed name among ghosts whether you like it or not. You're not just some kid next door here. You're the halfa."

"He's not the only one." Danielle interjected as she phased part of herself through the closed window. Pandora looked down at her. She didn't even say anything to Danielle but Danielle was already intimidating. "But very few people know about me and I'd like to keep it that way!" She said quickly in a high-pitched tone. Then she popped back inside.

"So he'll never stop is what you're saying?" Danny questioned, standing upright now.

"Not until you're dead or you succumb to him as the Prince of the ghost zone." Pandora crossed her arms.

Danny's eyebrows narrowed. "I won't do that."

"Well, the only other way to stop him is to have another, stronger dragon challenge him for the throne before the end of the year." Pandora said. "If Lyon doesn't become Prince, then he doesn't have its rights, of course. Someone will have to beat him at his own game.

"Ghosts go by dates of the year?" Tucker asked from inside. "I thought they were just barbaric and did what they wanted whenever." Danny just stared down at him. Tucker blinked. "What?"

"What am I? Chopped liver?" Danny asked in return, but Tucker didn't get it. Danny paused a moment to think. "Hm…" The ghost boy mused with a slight smile. "I think I know just the guy who could help us beat Lyon." He remembered Garth but did not say his name out loud because Pandora did not know.

"Well then you have this dragon transformer challenge Lyon for the throne. In the meanwhile, I think I'll be able to strike up a deal where the dragons will leave you alone for the time being. But if you do somehow succeed in finding a man, this will prove to be a powerful alliance for you. So take good care of it, and do good by it."

"Thank you." Danny said. "For all the advice." He phased back into the Speeder then. The others had hard a (muffled) version of the conversation but they had heard every word nonetheless. There was hope now at least.

Danny just had to hope Garth was going to agree to the obvious idea. If he didn't, then they were in trouble. Maybe they could find Dorothea as a last result? Danny really didn't want it to come to that. Sam drove the Speeder back to the Fenton portal and into the lab where it landed as if it had never been used in the first place. Jazz let Garth look over the notes she had taken. Garth was impressed at how thorough this team was.

At first he was afraid they'd be too formal for his style, but there was in fact a balance between organization and casual operation going on here. While things were chaotic at first, they didn't stay that way. The group worked well together after all, and they definitely cared about each other. Garth just hoped he could contribute to their satisfaction.

"That was so strange." Garth said as they all got out of the Speeder. For sure now the debates would begin as some of them had different problem-solving strategies and ideas.

Danny and his friends went back upstairs to the bedroom they had been using earlier for the meeting which Garth presumed to be Danny's. Garth thought a lot of time had passed but they really weren't gone long at all. Sam decided to take advantage of the moment. "Danny," Sam pulled him aside, "We need to talk."

Danny huffed. He knew that was coming, but the talk with Pandora and Garth being here just completely threw him off. All he had been thinking about was making the meeting go smoothly and going over in his head what to do if it didn't. The last thing on his mind was their breakup. He thought things could go back to normal between them. He thought if he just acted like it already had, it would work. But would it? Honestly? "There's nothing left to say." He responded, but he knew she was going to say something anyway. The others sat down in Danny's bedroom but Danny and Sam remained out in the hall. Jazz caught on to what was going on and she started the others talking while waiting.

"Well maybe _you_ don't have anything to say. But I do." Sam hesitated. "…I'm sorry for being so bossy back then." She shrugged. "I know sometimes I can be a little over the top."

"Thank you for apologizing." Danny sighed. "I'm sorry I overreacted. Can't we just be friends again? I'm tired of…whatever this awkward resentful vibe is."

"Yeah." She smiled. "That sounds good." As Danny turned and waked away, Sam blushed. But she made sure nobody could see. Danny was clueless like always, but maybe things were better that way. Sam realized she was actually happier when they were just friends anyway. Dating him wasn't like what she imagined it to be in her head. Now she was confused between logic and reason and what she felt in her heart.

Danny walked into his bedroom, took a deep breath, and just blurted out the idea that Pandora had given him. "Garth, I'm going to have to ask you to be the one to challenge Lyon." Danny told him. "That's my idea. It's what I've been wondering. If you could do that, it would really help us all…and potentially save us. I know you're going to need time to think about it."

"W-what?! No! I can't! I'm not a very good fighter!" Garth admitted. "I really don't think I can. Danny, I'm sorry, but with something that big, I'll only let you down."

"That's funny. You look like you could take somebody's eye out in a throwdown." Tucker said to Garth. Garth glared at him. "It's…it's the way you dress." Tucker theorized. But that just made it worse. "Heh, just forget I said anything." He said nervously.

"Garth, you're the only one who can fight Lyon. Then if you win, your kingdom and ours can be allies." Jazz spoke up. "It's the only logical conclusion."

Garth just murmured out something indistinct until something he said made sense. "You just want me to prove myself, don't you? I'm not even a real dragon. I'm telling you, even if I wanted to do it, it wouldn't work."

"I think it's worth a try." Sam agreed.

"With some training from us, Garth, I think you could win this." Danielle said with a big childish grin. "Danny's beat Aragon and Dorothea—Princess Dora—both before, so how hard can it be?" She shrugged.

Garth was dumbfounded at this. How could this one fifteen year old boy beat dragon transformers? Was he really just some kid or was there more to this whole halfa business? It was so cryptic. "Give me time to think about this, guys! I'm not that much of a tough guy. And this is all a lot to take in! Danny and Danielle are halfas, and I've just gone into the world I fear the most and now you're telling me I have to challenge the head dragon?!" He exclaimed. He rarely ever lost his cool, so he was a bit upset at himself for this. What was Danny's secret to beating two dragons? Garth had to know! But he didn't really want to fight.

"He's not the head _yet_." Tucker reminded them. "But if we're in good luck, he never will be. By the time he is ready to take the throne from Aragon, you'll be buff enough to challenge Lyon, take him out and win the fight!" Tucker said wishfully.

"No." Garth said coldly, looking down now. He tried to show as little emotion as possible. "You all find it so easy…to believe in someone…when you don't really know them." Garth mentioned, remembering how he had only ever failed repeatedly in the past. Even in this whole "team" situation, Garth was kind of half-in half-out. "You don't know that if something's too tough for me, I'll only ever back out. See? I can only let you down. And for that, I'm truly sorry. If you're looking for a winner, you'll have to find someone else. Maybe we can all work together to take one of those amulets, let Danny turn into a dragon and train—"

"No." Danny sighed, leaning on his forearm. "I think by the look in Pandora's eye, she was pretty clear when she said it had to be a dragon transformer. Everyone already knows I'm the halfa, that I'm not a dragon ghost, and besides if they see me with an amulet, it'll be a dead giveaway. But you have experience, Garth, and the amulet is inside of you. For all the other dragons know, you are just another one of them."

"Yeah, nobody's ever even heard of you before!" Tucker exclaimed with a smile. "You're practically a nobody!" He said that with such enthusiasm when he was really only trying to help. He had a good point but he didn't understand why they all turned around and looked at him like he was an idiot.

"I still think it' possible, Garth. If you work out a lot, you can totally beat Lyon." Sam said. "That's my vote."

"We are not voting on this! That's it!" Garth said, standing up. "I know what you're all used to and I get it—this whole team thing where you all believe in each other and help each other may work great for all of you but I'm not ready for it! I thought I was and I kind of wanted to be but the fact is that I'm still better off on my own. Flying solo has always been how I worked so why change that? I'm sorry for the trouble, but I—"

"Well what's holding you back?" Danielle asked all innocent. She reminded Garth a bit of a lost little puppy dog the way she looked at him. When he stared into her eyes, he was speechless.

"Yeah." Danny stood up to. "Whatever your hindrance is, we can work to overcome it together. If you say it's always been this way, then maybe it's not something you can handle on your own. Maybe you need us just as much as we need you."

Garth just paused for a moment trying to calm himself down after getting so worked up. This kid really had a way with words. If Garth stopped and thought about it for a second it made sense. He could connect the dots. But he still wasn't sure of it would work.

"Yeah. You can do this, Garth. We'll all have your back and you can count on that. It's what Team Phantom is all about." Jazz said with a positive smile. "In the meantime, I'll be doing my research on dragon weaknesses. And don't worry…you have three months to think about everything before you have to make a final decision."

"I think we will all be doing research, Jazz." Tucker said with a laugh. "Anything we can bring to the table to share is great. You just seem to like doing "homework" more than the rest of us." Jazz rolled her eyes in response and Danielle and Sam gave a short laugh. "Cough, cough, overachiever…"

Danny couldn't help but smile. Leave it to Tucker to lighten a tense mood! Danny dared to look over at Garth and he noticed immediately hat Garth's expression had softened. They made eye contact and Danny nodded, showing Garth that he understood he was going to think about it. "Meeting adjourned!" Danny announced, throwing his arms up in the air.

Tucker clapped a little and Danielle gave a hoot. Then everyone took their time in getting up and dispersing. Danielle walked out of the bedroom first. Then Jazz headed to her own bedroom from Danny's. Tucker and Garth walked downstairs and left the house. But Sam remained. During the discussion, she had thought of more things to say. But knowing she would never get to say them all, she decided she would bring up the ones least likely to hinder their friendship. "Danny." She approached him.

"What?" He asked, going _oh no_ in his mind again. What did she want this time? He thought they were done? But girls could be so complicated and fickle sometimes, as he learned from living with sisters.

"Since we're friends again, I wanna ask you something. Something very important." She took a deep breath. "Danny, are you dating Valerie?"

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**Hey so my birthday was yesterday but it didn't go well :/ hopefully this week, things will turn around. **

**Hope ya liked the chapter :) review if ya do!**


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

"No!" Danny replied. He was completely caught off guard by that shot in the dark. "Why would you think that?"

"Because it's kinda obvious that you still like her." Sam said under her breath.

"Ugh…she's far more interested in ghost-hunting. And besides, we never talk any more anyways. I only see her in passing. We don't really acknowledge each other. So why did you bring that up?"

"I just don't think it's wise to date her. That's all. Just saying."

"_Of course_ you wouldn't. You never liked her to begin with."

Sam sighed. "No, no, no. I'm just frustrated because it seems like I'm the only one who realizes that she'll never be able to accept the other half of you. Tucker will encourage you no matter what. And Danielle and Jazz will side for her because they don't really know her."

"If I really was with her—and I'm not—we'd find a way to work things out. If she ever learned the truth, I'm sure she'd understand. And if she doesn't, _I'll_ understand. It's a risk I'm willing to take. Love has a way of doing that." Danny said. He looked up to Sam's eyes and waited for her response. And then he realized that the wording he used might have hurt her. He didn't mean it like that, but he couldn't take it back.

There were so many things Sam could say in reply, but she chose to leave these things buried in the chambered depths of her heart. She started to say something, but then changed the course of her speech. Maybe everyone else was right—there was nothing left to say and Sam was just hanging on to nothing. "Bye then." She whispered as she walked away. She could see Danny and Valerie getting together sometime in the future for sure. But Sam would never believe Valerie was right for him. Sam didn't completely believe she was the right girl either. So then who was? She'd be left to wonder for a while.

Danny just carried on like normal. After his guests had left, he retreated back into his room to work on homework and studying for school. He could remember when last year the load seemed so overbearing but this year he had a larger group of friends to help him out. His circle could only grow. He just hoped he could fill the shoes of the leader they expected him to be. He just hung his head over his math homework then and put on some music so he could focus better. Hopefully the following week would bring on some good memories.

As evening transitioned into night, and night into morning, the day cycle began afresh and a bunch of teens found themselves in an unfortunately familiar place. Most of them did not like school but Cecelia did. Cecelia and Sam sat in class trying to write their short story by sharing one computer. It was the first day for the official writing process to begin and…things weren't going very smoothly.

Cecelia wished that she had been partners with Valerie or Paulina—anyone but Sam, basically. The two of them could find no interests in common except that they were both girls and both in this class. Try as they might to find common ground, it was only a matter of time before they gave up. "This is bad. It's due soon and we haven't even started yet." Cecelia said with a dramatic yawn to follow.

"Well, I'll write the first chapter tonight." Sam said with a shrug. "I know neither of us has an idea yet but maybe something will come to me."

"What'll it be about, do you think?"

"Er, well, one thought has been bouncing around in my head for a long time. But, it's not something you seem like you'd be into. Remember how I like all things weird and freaky? I'm sure you've heard of the ghost boy Danny Phantom."

Cecelia felt her heart jump into her throat. Had Sam really just mentioned…HIM?! Cecelia shook her head as she felt like almost passing out. She had to keep herself conscious…and sane. Keeping the sanity would be good. "Wait. Whoa. What?" Cecelia interjected. "Why would you want to write about…Danny Phantom?"

Sam's eyes looked downward nervously. "I knew you wouldn't be up for it but it's my only idea, sorry. I have some stories about him already, so I'm sure there will be some idea from there I can use."

Cecelia just smiled. "No, I'd totally be down for that. The more I grow up, the more I'm starting to like weird things." Sam smiled in return and Cecelia knew this could only be a win-win. Finally she had found a subject of conversation. Perhaps Sam would open up more about Danny Phantom and whatever it is she knew about him through this story.

"Alright! I'll get the basic thoughts of the story going and then you make up a second chapter." Sam said. "Finally, we've got something in common."

Cecelia just shrugged. "We'll see about that." She added just as the bell rang. Sam didn't get a chance to ask what that meant and Cecelia didn't want her to. Sam went through the rest of the day a little happier than usual because of her story idea being successful. She just had to make sure that Cecelia would never ever connect it to Danny Fenton, and of course that talk of the story would ever reach him or Tucker either.

That night, Sam spent an hour or so getting lost in the memories of all her short stories. Some were about real events, some were based of real events, and some were pure fiction. All reflected her creepy crush on him equally though. Nevertheless, the prose reminded her about how much she loved hanging out with Danny and Tucker and she started to really miss them. She was determined to get things back to normal with them as she started typing this new story.

At school, Sam, who was proud of her hard work, handed the story to Cecelia on a flash drive. "I think you're going to like it." She said with a smile. "I'm starting to get a good feeling about this project."

Cecelia giggled. "Me too." She couldn't wait to read that file! The real question was what to tell Valerie regarding it. She wouldn't say anything yet because she didn't know if she would find anything WORTH mentioning either. That night, Cecelia read it on her computer. The story began with Danny Phantom, a happy ghost teenager trying to fit in with normal humans. And they all adored him—even the kids. But especially there was this one girl whose name was not given, but she was described as being thin, beautiful, and dark-haired.

There wasn't anything in the story that Cecelia didn't already know about Danny Phantom so she figured maybe Sam wasn't so suspicious after all. She was clearly just another phangirl. And yes, there were several girls who called themselves that. At school sometimes things got crazy if Danny Phantom had been sighted nearby recently.

In Cecelia's chapter, she decided to name the girl Paulina. Cecelia knew how much Paulina had crushed on Danny secretly even though she was dating Dash off and on. Next, Cecelia wrote about how Paulina and Danny became a duo. Later Cecelia told Paulina over the phone and Paulina laughed in delight. "I love the ghost boy!" She said to Cecelia. "But shh! Don't tell Dash! He'll flip. And the chapter? Sammy'll love it!" Cecelia agreed to keep her secret and just kept on writing. Maybe she shouldn't mention any of this to Valerie after all.

The next day Cecelia passed on the flash drive to Sam with a smile, completely ignorant of Sam and Paulina's rivalry. Sam wouldn't admit it, but she was surprised Cecelia's chapter. Sam tried very hard to give the story a gothic mood even though Danny Phantom was always upbeat. Her style of writing didn't totally go with him. She made Paulina's character get into a car accident and have to have plastic surgery on her face.

One night after Cecelia looked the whole story over so far, she just couldn't resist telling Paulina about the laughable little plastic surgery detail. Paulina's response was just a sigh and then she mentioned something else. "That's so like her. But rumor has it that Danny Phantom has a crush on ME. But whatever. I'm sure it's just a story."

Cecelia could see Paulina was really hurt by it. "Wait a minute now. If you've liked him for so long, how come you never told him? You're Paulina for goodness sakes! Come on, I know you're not shy. So what's stopping you?"

"Ugh. I never get the chance to actually talk to him. Whether he's surrounded by fans or the police or ghosts, he's always busy. I can't even begin to understand how hard it is for him. But Dash? He's right here. The ghost boy? He's kind of unattainable."

"What? Is this giving up I hear? A sound of defeat? Don't throw in the towel just yet, Paulina. Believe me, I know Dash and he's not the greatest. I think you owe it to yourself to go for it." She said.

"Wow…uh, thanks." Paulina said with a hint of humility. "You know, if certain other people found out about my crush, they'd ridicule it. I used to be super forthright with my feelings but then I even heard some of my own friends talking about how I was way too shallow for a guy like him. But what they don't get is that I already know he's too good for me. That's the real reason I kind of gave up."

"Wow Paulina, you're deeper than I thought. Looks like you're not so shallow after all." Cecelia mentioned, and she really meant it too. She wanted to see her friend happy. Paulina smiled on the other end of the line. It had taken her a while to finally learn some humility but she was definitely getting there. Cecelia was the first person to call her "not" shallow.

Long after the phone conversation was over, Cecelia found herself stumped late at night trying to write the next chapter. The more she studied the other chapters that Sam had written in time, the more she got to know Sam and the way she thought. _Sam is a really smart person_, Cecelia thought. Maybe I should get serious on this story. She decided to give Danny Phantom an enemy to fight. This guy was a super strong human who believed all ghosts were evil. Cecelia wondered how Sam would write Danny in battle.

Sam read that chapter and got a little confused. In her next chapter, Danny forced this enemy of his into a sit-down and explained to him that all ghosts were not evil—many were not. Danny brought up certain events and things that he had done to keep the town safe. Eventually the villain came to his senses and it was all just one big misunderstanding.

It was then that Sam realized the story had made it to the minimum for the project. She was relived it was finally over but also pleased with the piece. So she decided to end it with Danny his former enemy becoming friends. The next day in school, Sam allowed Cecelia to read that ending real quickly and then the two of them turned it into the teacher together.

"That was a strange story, but I think I liked it." Cecelia said to Sam as they headed back to their seats. "And we got to know each other better."

"Yeah. I suppose we're friends now, in a weird way." Sam smiled. "Do you seriously think all ghosts are evil though? Come on, I have to know why you threw that bit in there."

Cecelia avoided making eye contact as she sat down. "Well a ghost did kill my mother. My father raised me with the belief to never trust a ghost. I know this town is full of mixed ideas about ghosts and it's hard to keep a clear head, but I can only go on with what I've always known."

"I'm sorry." Sam said first. "I didn't know any of that. But how open would you be to…I dunno…finding out differing opinions about ghosts?"

Cecelia shrugged. "My dad hates all ghosts. Heh, it's even his job to build things that will convert their ectoplasmic energy into something useful like electricity. It's called the Equator. Pretty cool name, huh?"

Sam remembered that being discussed at the Team Phantom meeting the other night. Sam had just now connected the dots and she as well had a hidden agenda for getting to know Cecelia better. Sam hated doing this but if she could somehow get information about the machine directly from Cecelia, then she could tell Danny and the group would be one step closer to figuring out how to stop it.

The bell rang then and Sam shook away her daydreams. "I gotta go meet Danny somewhere." She said quickly as she gathered her things. She had to tell Danny the thing was called the Equator before she forgot. A name was something she and the others could research! And if they overheard people mention it somewhere, they'd know what they were talking about.

"Danny Phantom?" Cecelia questioned automatically.

"No! No, uh…Danny Fenton." Sam said as she nervously slipped away.

Cecelia shrugged it off and headed into the hall as well. The sea of students was thicker than ever and Cecelia did not mind standing away from the middle isle and letting people pass. Things cleared up a bit just as Valerie came out of the girls' bathroom. She walked over to Cecelia. "Manson's definitely hiding something." Valerie mentioned. She must have been eavesdropping. "See the way she just ran off like that even though I saw her talking to you? She does that a lot and I don't think it is mere coincidence."

"I know what it is." Cecelia chuckled softly. "She's got a huge crush on Danny Phantom. But apparently lots of girls do." Cecelia could respect keeping the subject of the story a secret from Valerie but there was no reason Valerie couldn't know about the crush!

"Figures. She likes things that are _different_, so of course she'd have a thing for him." Valerie shrugged. But then she stopped herself. "Wait. But Paulina likes him too. Or at least she used to. So nah, I don't get it." Cecelia couldn't help but laugh at the way Valerie said it. Valerie laughed too. It was all in good fun, so long as nobody got hurt.

Cecelia could never have predicted just how much a few simple words could have impacted Paulina though because the next time Paulina saw her, she mentioned that she had "ended it" with Dash. Valerie listened in and was just as shocked as Cecelia, but Cecelia had to admit she was proud of Paulina for deciding to get back in the game.

"The next time I see the ghost boy, I'm going to tell him how I really feel!" Paulina said with the biggest grin those girls had ever seen her wear. "And I'm not holding back!"

Cecelia just smiled as Paulina walked on past them. Valerie's face seemed frozen in a look of surprise and Cecelia jokingly told her to snap out of it. "…Seriously?" Valerie asked in her almost-rant voice. "SERIOUSLY? Is everybody in our school completely crazy now? Fortunately I don't need a guy to make me happy. I'm confident just being myself. Am I right?" Valerie asked as they walked. Then she saw Danny and Tucker at their lockers. "Oh hi Danny!" She waved with a little smile. Cecelia just rolled her eyes. Valerie really did not know herself at all. Cecelia knew herself better than she thought though and she knew she wasn't destined to be just the "best friend" or "sidekick" forever. It was only a matter of time before Cecelia found herself in love with…the last guy she could ever expect.

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**Had a fabulous time at the mall today and dinner with my family :) My cousin just got engaged, so yay!**

**Hope you like this chapter and enjoy my DannyxPaulina DIGITAL fanart up on Deviantart ^^ I'm so into them right now for some reason. **

**Also I've started posting more of this story up on WattPad. i'm still unsure about the length exactly but i'm almost certain this story will make it to 70k. Hope you're liking it :D thanks for reading. **


	16. Chapter 16

**Hey so I'm really sorry I didn't post this for the Dannyversary yesterday but I was busy doing chores and I went to church too. I DID draw two fanarts for the Dannyversary which are both up on my deviantart if you want to see :D Anyways, hope you enjoy this new chapter I worked really hard on!**

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**Chapter 16**

Tucker was in his room, skipping dinner once again on the account of "homework". This was merely a half-truth he had told his parents because after every Team Phantom meeting, he sort of did get his own "homework". His real school homework was already neatly finished and packed away. Now it was time to get to the good stuff!

Tucker had the lights off in his room as he typed on his computer. Leaning on his left palm, he moved the mouse and typed with only the right hand. So far he had not found anything exciting or anything he had not seen before on dragon ghosts. A long time ago when he, Danny, and Sam researched that dragon amulet, they had read a lot of articles, both boring and otherwise. Tucker found himself struggling for new data. Hopefully one of the girls had better luck in their research.

Tucker then switched to the local Guys In White business website. It looked like it hadn't been updated in forever…several months at the very least. Tucker sighed lethargically. He wondered what news he was going to be able to present to the group at the next meeting. He'd keep searching until he found something though. And his parents—what was that? Were they calling him? Had he skipped dinner again?

"Oh well." He shrugged. On nights like this, it was not uncommon for him to fall asleep at the computer either. He fell away into dreamland hoping he could still be useful to the group, and also wondering just what kind of elements of the fight that Garth guy could bring to the table. Sometimes, Tucker thought Danny trusted too easily if he really thought about it.

The next morning, Cecelia found a pleasant surprise in the fact that Valerie and her father showed up to pick her up for school. Mortimer had been very busy as of late with working on his project into the nightly hours and then sleeping for large parts of the day. It was no wonder he had called in for someone else to take Cecelia to school. When the brunette thought about it, it made sense.

She just wished she could walk to school sometimes like she had seen a few of her classmates do. But nobody lived nearby that she knew she could walk with. In the passage of a day or two, Cecelia and Valerie had grown accustomed to carpooling to school together. In time, that story project for class seemed like history and Cecelia casually let its main topic slip to Valerie.

"Wow, Sam really _does_ like the ghost kid. It's kinda creepy because she _just_ got out of a relationship and she already likes another guy." Valerie commented, shaking her head. "Wow. Even I don't rebound that fast."

Cecelia rolled her eyes. "But you didn't rebound; you're still stuck on the same one. Speaking of _that guy_, when are you going to ask him out?"

"Actually I was thinking of sitting by him at lunch today and then maybe beating around the bush till the perfect comment comes. How will I know when it's the right moment, you wonder? Oh don't worry, I'm more confident than ever, girl!" Valerie admitted casually. Cecelia's eyes lit up. "And you have to come with me…be my wingman—er, wing-girl."

"Uh…" Cecelia protested. "I wouldn't be caught dead as a third wheel-wingman whatever. Those situations get embarrassing really fast and I don't want to be known for it."

"Aw, but you have to! You've gotta keep Tucker away from Danny and me so that he doesn't intervene. There's a small chance that Manson will sit at that table too, so you'd have to keep her away as well. You're the one that's been trying to get me to make a move and here's your chance, so are you going to help me or not?" Valerie kinda rattled it off.

Cecelia hesitated. "Okay." She gave in for the sake of her friend's happiness even though she didn't feel comfortable herself. Valerie was in the love zone and needed a second chance.

Later it was lunch time, and Valerie and Cecelia casually sat down at the table where Danny and Tucker sat. "Hi Valerie, what brings you here?" Danny asked in a friendly tone as Tucker just stared at the girls in disbelief.

"And more importantly, what brings your friend here?" The techno geek interrupted, raising his eyebrows teasingly.

Cecelia shuddered. Valerie ignored Tucker. "I actually wanted to talk to you, Danny, _alone_." Valerie looked at Tucker and waited for him to get up. There was an awkward pause where she just stared at him before he finally got the hint.

"Oh I get it." Tucker got the hint and stood up. He looked around the lunch room until he spotted a lone goth girl eating a salad at a faraway table he sat down next to her. Valerie gave Cecelia a look too and Cecelia followed Tucker after rolling her eyes. Valerie decided to begin her conversation with small talk to Danny.

When Cecelia approached Tucker and Sam, she felt rather awkward but they didn't seem to mind. "Hi Cecelia." Sam said and casually motioned for Cecelia to sit down with them even though it was kind of weird.

"Are you okay?" Tucker asked Sam quietly.

"Yeah, yeah, never better." Sam answered. Cecelia couldn't help but feel a little sorry for Sam, now that she understood her side. Sam elbowed Cecelia and pointed to the A-list table where Star and Paulina were making gestures to wave her over. Star even mouthed "why are you sitting with them" and got Kwan to notice. Cecelia didn't want to make a big deal out of things so when Sam told her to go to them, she got up and did so.

"Why were you like, sitting _over there_?" Star asked as Cecelia sat down in her usual spot. "Trying to find out of those two losers are going to end up together, right?"

Cecelia shrugged. All she could do now was glance over at Valerie. Things seemed to be going well for her friend and Tucker and Sam didn't seem like they had any interest in interrupting anything. Now that Cecelia had left, she could see that Sam was more comfortable showing just how upset she really was.

Danny and Valerie immediately started catching up on each other's lives and what they had done recently. They shared a few laughs and Danny kept thinking about how his feelings for Valerie had never really disappeared but rather had just been suppressed. They got along great even if they had been known to argue some times. She was the closest he had ever come to his "perfect match".

Valerie couldn't stop staring into his big blue eyes. She remembered how cute she thought he was back when they used to hang out at places like theaters and carnivals. They used to see each other all the time and just walk from place to place because they were still too young to drive Valerie missed those days…all those dates filled with laughs and light kisses and sunny afternoons of walking on the beach…she would have loved to have that class ring of his she used to think was lame. Lame didn't matter anymore when it was him.

"Danny…" Valerie couldn't hide her smile when she looked at him. Time to beat around the bush and pop that question to see if he returned her feelings. "For a while now, I've been wondering what happened to our friendship. I haven't seen you very often anymore since that day I told you I couldn't handle a relationship. I don't mean, er, in the dating way but it would have been cool if we stayed friends. We kind of just dropped out of each other's lives and I didn't mean for that to happen! But, that was a long, long time ago. I've definitely changed, and so have you."

"Are you saying that you…miss me?" Danny looked confused, but he couldn't help but smile anyway.

"Well, uh, yes, that's part of it, but I also miss hanging out with you as a friend. Ya know, since we were such great friends."

"I think we stopped talking after…do you remember that day when that red suit attacked me?"

"It's clear as crystal. I remember telling you to run so that I could stop it by myself."

"And since it was being controlled by an evil ghost, I'm glad you stopped it." Danny knew it wasn't Valerie who did the job.

"_Actually_ it was that Danny Phantom ghost who destroyed the suit." Valerie looked down. Danny didn't think she'd have a problem taking credit but the fact that he did showed she had matured and he liked that.

"Right. But how did _you_ know that?" Danny questioned.

"I…saw the whole thing through one of the windows at school, yeah."

Danny smiled nervously. "That Danny Phantom guy is pretty cool, isn't he?" He dared to ask a touchy question. He couldn't deny the question had been on his mind.

"He's a ghost. All ghosts are evil." Valerie replied flatly.

"But Danny Phantom is a hero." Danny replied.

"Have you ever met him?" Valerie challenged.

"I can't say that I've exactly…met him…entirely." Danny admitted. He remembered back to that time when he had split himself in half using the Fenton Dreamcatcher. His head and stomach hurt whenever he thought about that. "Oh, yes, actually, I have met him heh heh."

"Well, he sets all sorts of chaos loose on the very town we live in, Danny."

"He does _not_! He's only trying to stop the evil ghosts and make Amity Park safe again." Danny argued. He didn't like how quickly a talk with her could change from lighthearted laughter to a serious debate.

"Really, Danny? Really? You're going to argue the side of a ghost?"

"B-but you've just been misunderstanding him this whole time. See?" Danny settled down. "You just have to give him a chance. And then you'll see that he's not such a bad guy."

Valerie hesitated. "Danny, I shouldn't have gotten all mad like that and I'm sorry. I have my own issues against ghosts and I try not to drag other people into that." She sighed. "I should have just told you what I came over here to tell you instead of dancing around the subject. Guess I kind of blew it, didn't I?"

Danny blinked twice. "…Huh?"

She leaned in and lowered her voice to a soft undertone. "I never stopped liking you, okay? And the only reason I told you I wasn't ready for a full-time relationship then was because I had a lot on my plate and I was just beginning to learn how to deal with it. But now I'm almost a whole year older and…I can handle things now. I've learned so much and I'd really like a second chance with you?"

Danny smiled slightly. "I'll confess that I was a bit heartbroken when it was all over. It was a letdown that I had sort of seen coming but I had been in denial. I'm glad you told me the truth now. This changes a lot of things. I miss you too."

"So maybe later we can…"

"Go out?"

"I was going to say "hang out", but I like that better." Valerie and Danny shared a laugh once more. Just because they had their differences didn't mean they couldn't settle them. They might have been afraid to settle disagreements before but life had given them another chance at each other and they were both going to try their hardest not to mess up this time.

People from neighboring tables turned their heads to see what was such a big deal. Most people liked what they saw. Sam and Tucker knew exactly what that laugh meant. Tucker was very happy for Danny because he knew Danny still had feelings for Valerie. But Sam only put her head down, too embarrassed to show the whole school her red shriveled face. Talking to Tucker had helped her let off some steam and he assured her that he was there for her too.

Tucker sometimes thought he was the only person who thought things would all work out for good somehow. Eventually everyone would end up with who they really belonged with and be happy. Tucker just had to keep his head up for his own sake because he still had yet to find some girl who would seriously date him.

About an hour and a half after school had let out, Danny walked with a smile from his house to Nasty Burger for his work shift. Working at the local fast food place wasn't exactly the dream job for an aspiring astronaut, but it was easy to manage and it earned him a smidgen more than minimum wage. If he wanted to get into a good for-year university, he'd need the cash.  
Nothing could get Danny down today—nothing. Not after he and Valerie had sorta gotten back together! He wasn't even worried that she might be a rebound. On the flip side of things, Sam could have been the rebound. So did that make this time with Valerie re-rebound? He didn't know. And he didn't care. He was just happy to be…happy!

The boy hummed off-key to an old rock song he liked as he trotted over to his employee locker and threw on his red and white work apron. He and Tucker were lucky to have nabbed similar work shifts at the same place. Most teens dreaded going into work but the best friends talked to each other during it which made it enjoyable. All their jobs required them to do was put the food on a tray or in a bag and include straws and napkins. Tucker greeted Danny as he saw him walk in—Tucker's shift began a few minutes before Danny's did.

Danny waved in response. He wasn't focused and he mixed up a few orders and customers scolded him. "Sorry." He said.

"Danny, are you feeling allright?" Tucker asked his best friend. "You just gave a mother and her little kid _nine_ cheeseburgers."

Danny rubbed his eyes. "Ugh, wow, I really need to keep my head in the game. But you know how earlier I told you Valerie and I kind of agreed to see each other again? It's all I've been thinking about!"

"I'm not seeing the problem here."

"I'm so nervous, man! Everything was like so perfect and I'm just afraid I'm gonna mess this up with you know…I still get weak-kneed around cute girls. I'll get all clumsy and awkward and Valerie will think I'm still just another pathetic dork. And on top of it Sam probably hates me more than ever now."

"No, she doesn't. She was just a little sad. But she can't stay mad at _you_ for long. She's still our friend and deep down you know that. As for Valerie, you were all hunky-dory a second ago. You just have to calm down and tell yourself you can do this. You're freaking out a little bit but that's to be expected. Get it out and once it passes, it's all smooth sailing from there." Tucker gave Danny a good piece of advice while also doing a good job. The manager complemented Tucker as he walked past. "See?" Tucker smiled. "You just have to think positively."

"You're right, Tuck. I _can_ do this. I'm going to go out with Valerie tomorrow _and_ I'm going to kiss her." Danny grinned confidently as he returned to his work.

"Now you're talkin', man!" Tucker encouraged him. They fist-bumped. They would always have each other's backs and that's what Danny counted on.


	17. Chapter 17

**I'm so excited right now and I don't even know why :D I'm just happy I guess. DP makes me happy. Enjoy some major DxV love in this chapter. Hope you like it :D Thanks for reading.**

* * *

**Chapter 17**

After Danny and Tucker's work shifts were over, they grabbed a quick dinner to go and then walked back to Danny's place to play some video games. They were going to relax for an evening for once and hopefully not have to worry about fighting any ghosts. Their favorite game was Doomed and it was filled with mega-awesome action. Sometimes Tucker would win and he'd brag to Danny. When Danny would win, he'd stand up and do a silly dance on the couch. But there were some times when neither of them would win because Jazz or Danielle pulled the plug on their game system. "Aw, come on!" Tucker whined in protest as he had sensed something serious even before both girls marched in.

"Danielle, no!" Danny yelled as he turned to glare at his two sisters for rudely interrupting.

Jazz stood in front of the two boys with her arms crossed. "Guys, there's a _dragon_ outside." She said fearlessly, and Danielle imitated her.

"Aren't you going to do something about it?" Danielle asked.

"Who, me?" Tucker asked nervously as he and Danny went to the window to get a better look. It wasn't Garth and it wasn't Lyon either. "Tucker the human…do something about that guy out there? Heh heh, this one's all on you, bud." He patted Danny on the shoulder. Danny just stared at him dryly.

The blue dragon ghost screeched and wailed. Danny could hear his parents in the basement and he told Jazz and Tucker to keep them down there so they wouldn't see the ghost. Keeping an eye on the ghost hunters was no big deal. Then, Danny and Danielle transformed into their ghost halves and phased through the wall. "Don't you have somewhere else to be, dragon? Anywhere but here will do just fine!" Danny yelled as he flew out, preparing for a battle. Danielle braced herself as well. Danny took the thermos off his belt but did that, the dragon shrunk down into a person.

"Wait, Danny! It's me, Princess Dorothea!" She said. "Please don't try to suck me into your awful cylindrical trap again!" Danny apologized and he and Danielle went over to greet her. "Danny, my brother, Prince Aragon is re-organizing the balance of power throughout the medieval realm in the ghost zone. He and those under him are finding all sorts of loopholes in our laws and he's banished me from the kingdom! And he's preparing Lyon to become the most terrible leader the kingdom has ever seen!" Dorothea reeked of desperation and misery so much so that it almost frightened Danny a little. Danielle was scared but she didn't show it. . "And that's why I had to change the way I looked because I didn't want Aragon to find me."

"Don't worry, Dorothea. I think I might now a guy who will challenge the throne." Danny mentioned to calm her down. "But it's not a done deal yet and I still need time to convince him." Danielle gave him a strange look, hoping he knew what he was doing.

"Uhm, yeah, what he said." Danielle added.

"You have brought me a message of hope, young ghost children. I thank you." Dorothea said. She changed back into dragon form.

"Where are you going now?" Danielle asked.

"To tell my brother that Lyon is going to fail." Dorothea said with pride.

"Oh please don't!" Danielle begged.

"Yeah, we kinda wanted it to be a surprise. We don't want them to see it coming." Danny explained with a nervous laugh. "As if we aren't going to be surprised ourselves…" He said under his breath.

"That makes sense." Dorothea said as she flew away. "Thank you and good luck!"

Danielle and Danny went back into the house and shut the door as they changed human again. "All clear?" Danny asked Jazz and Tucker who looked bored stiff.

They gave him a thumbs up. "Everything alright out there? I didn't hear any screaming or crashes." Jazz said. She received a nod from both of the halfas. That night, long after Tucker had left, Danny went to bed hoping to himself Garth would make the right choice regarding the dragons, whatever it was.

The next day at school, Danny and Valerie agreed on a time for their date. School itself kind of breezed by fast and Danny didn't pay much attention to things. But what else was new? Danny was always clueless. Some things would never change, especially the pre-date panic attack Danny got that evening after school was over. "I have to get ready for tonight!" Danny said in a hurried voice as he paced around the living room.

"Relax, bro, your date is in an hour and ten minutes." Danielle reminded him calmly. She casually tried to do some of her homework on the couch but found him too distracting.

"Dad set that clock wrong at daylight savings time, remember? That one's an hour behind!"

"Oh, well, in that case you have…I really don't think it matters anymore." She shrugged.

Danny rushed into his bedroom to put on his fresh clothes and deodorant and comb his hair and such. Jazz came up from the basement.

"Is Danny panicking still?" The redhead asked cautiously.

"Yes." Danielle answered immediately.

"Poor kid." Jazz relaxed on a recliner. "If only he would try a more psychological approach to this, he would realize that dating and messing up is a perfectly natural process and there is no reason to panic." Danielle gave Jazz a weird look. Jazz laughed at the younger girl's nervousness and then went to her own bedroom to work on a school project.

Danny came down the stairs in his black hoodie like usual on an evening when the air was cool. His hair was neatly combed so that it shined for once. His breath smelled like clean mint but the rest of him smelled like the cologne he had owned for three years but rarely worn. "How do I look?" Danny asked his sister but it was more of a rhetorical wonder. "Ready to go on a date?" He smiled proudly.

Danielle just laughed. "The top half of you looks okay but I don't think I'd go for the green underwear. Personally, just no." Danny looked down to see that he had forgotten his pants. He gasped. Danielle shook her head. The boy ran upstairs and put his jeans on and then came back down the stairs, panting. Then he gave her a thumbs up. Danielle put her books and papers aside for a second. Showing she could take time away from her long process of catching up was really something.

Jazz came back down just to say one thing to him because she was a bit worried now. "Danny, you need to chill. I haven't seen you this nervous since—"

"Sorry! Gotta go!" Danny interrupted as he ran out the door. Flight was the best way to assure he'd arrive at the agreed location before Valerie no matter what.

"…Since your first date with Valerie one year ago." Jazz finished her thought with a sigh. She and Danielle exchanged thoughts and then went back to their own business.

Night had fallen and Danny in the sky in ghost form flying as fast as he could possibly go without accidentally flying into things. He stopped a ways away from Valerie's house to transform. Then they would walk the rest of the way to the place Danny had in mind. Danny was nervous for anything they might talk about, but he was also excited for it too. He straightened up his outfit and finally was able to relax a little as he approached the door to their new place. The boy rang the bell and Valerie's father opened the door. "Danny!" Damon Gray's face brightened. "I remember you! Come on in, son. Valerie's almost ready." The man's smiles made Danny feel somewhat more at ease.

Danny was relieved that Valerie had not been sitting around waiting for him as he feared. He took a seat on the couch. It was small and cheap, just like the rest of the furniture around the living room. But Danny didn't mind. Damon was a single parent supporting his daughter and himself. They never had much money, even _before_ the divorce. Danny looked around at the plain walls painted with drab colors. He wished he could help Valerie out somehow but making her happy was the only way to do that now.

He heard footsteps coming from around the corner. _It must be Valerie_, Danny thought as a smile formed on his face. She stepped into the room elegantly. Her hair was brushed nicely and the headband she usually wore was gone. It had taken her awhile to tame her hair so that it would look good as it swooshed around freely in the night air. She wore a lovely peach-colored evening dress that ended right above the knee. She had on stylish sandals and a cute black purse. Her makeup was done to perfection. She smiled at Danny, hoping he didn't feel too awkward having come here in jeans and a hoodie.

"You look amazing!" Danny smiled in awe. "I-I'm sorry, I didn't know you were going to dress up this much…I would have at least worn like a collared shirt or something."

Valerie shrugged. "It's okay. I don't mind. I just like to dress up for the sake of it because I don't get many chances to these days." She laughed happily. She took his arm and they walked outside to together. "I think it's cute that you're wearing a hoodie. Most guys I know would have worn other things they don't usually wear, but I'm glad you're so comfortable around me."

Danny was grateful for that. The small talk soon turned into talk of every subject they could think of practically, from parents' work to Danielle moving in with the Fentons to friends at school. They danced very carefully around the topic of Sam but it wasn't too awkward at all. Paulina was even brought up with no problem as Danny assured Valerie he was mature enough to put his crush on Paulina behind him. The subject of circles of friends continued and Danny and Valerie knew they didn't have many friends in common, but Danny said she would always be welcome to sit at his table. They soon found themselves in a very woodsy part of Colorado and Danny mentioned that the place he had in mind was not far.

"I think I know where we're going." Valerie said to Danny. "And I love this place. It's the best surprise ever!"

Danny smiled as they soon entered the parking lot of wood chips which had been paved just for cars. Together they walked along the rocky pathway with other people who were going to the same place. "Welcome to The Old Shed!" A man dressed as a wilderness explorer handed out menus to all the people before letting them inside. Danny took the menu. Before the two of them stood a large log cabin three stories high. It had a big wooden roof too. They stepped inside the wondrous building. It was no cheap restaurant at all—though customers were often misled by its name.

The inside was vibrant and grandeur with light gold-colored tablecloths and wooden chairs decorated with white fabric. The curtains had lace so even when closed, the beautiful moonlight from outside was still partly visible. The waiters wore black suits and there was a gigantic winding staircase that led to three floors of fine dining. Danny and Valerie went to one of four host desks. The host sat them at a table for two on the second floor and it was by a window. "Oh my gosh, Danny, this is all just so perfect." Valerie said. She squeezed his hand.

"Yeah…" Danny blushed. They held hands over the table as they looked at their menus. Danny mentally winced at the prices.

When the waiter came, they both ordered a fancy spaghetti dish made with tomato gravy and turkey. It was absolutely delicious and they finished it rather quickly. Time flew by when two young lovebirds enjoyed spending time with each other. "Gosh that was the best meal I've had in years!" Valerie said.

They both stood up and Danny went to pay and he cringed as the host rang up the large amount of money on his credit card. But then Danny looked at Valerie's grateful face and he didn't worry so much. They walked back outside and held hands. The air had gotten colder so they walked a little faster. Valerie's cheap sandals were all but ruined from all the walking but she didn't even notice. The night was still young from her perspective and she almost wished they could stop and see a movie or go to an arcade or something. Maybe one day they could do those things. This was certainly not going to be the last of their dates.

The couple hugged each other goodbye as they had come back up on Valerie's street. "Thank you so much, Danny! I had a wonderful time with you." But Danny didn't let go of her hands. He leaned in to kiss her and she kissed him back. They both blushed and then said a slightly awkward goodbye in unison.

Danny started to head home then after his date had entered her house. "Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Wohoo!" He cheered for himself once he was far enough away so nobody could hear. He hid behind something to change into his ghost for and then flew home. He couldn't wait to tell his sisters that this date really couldn't have been more of a success.

Meanwhile, at Valerie's house, the girl was delighted from that date. It was a perfect dream to be back with Danny again after all those months of being apart! For once, Valerie felt like she had done something right. She had a partner to love and be proud of. In her room, she hummed an old pop song as she took off her nice dress and slipped into some comfy sweats and grabbed her phone. She just _had_ to tell Cecelia, even though it was late at night. "Cecelia! Pick up your phone! Hey girl! Guess how my date went?"

"How did your date go?" Cecelia's tired voice droned. She had been doing homework all evening, unlike some people.

"It was _amazing_! I'm not the kind of girl to go all gaga over a guy but, seriously, tonight was fantastic. I'm…I'm totally at a loss for words right now. This feeling is incredible and indescribable. I hope that one day you'll meet a guy and feel the exact same way as me! I can only hope one day all girls will know true love!"

"That's great, Valerie." Cecelia said with a disinterested sigh. "I'm proud of you. I really am." She only half-believed that one day she'd find a "soul mate" guy like Valerie had. "You should tell Paulina." She mentioned.

"Ooh, great idea! Night, girly."

Cecelia hung up and Valerie dialed up Paulina. They must have spent the next hour just going on and on about boys alone. Paulina enjoyed hot boys, and Valerie was her friend, so they had quite an interesting conversation there. Valerie and Paulina finished their conversation and then Valerie tried to go to sleep but she couldn't stop thinking about Danny. It was then that she realized she completely forgot to do her karate practice for the day. And so she practiced her high kicks into the midnight hours.


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18**

It was the next day—Saturday—and it was the day of another game for Casper High's football team. That meant that the cheerleaders had a practice for two hours before the game to do some quick touch-ups. Paulina directed the cheerleaders to do all their stretches and warm-ups before practicing the routine. All the while, Cecelia wondered where Valerie was. The brunette kept looking at the front door to the gymnasium but Valerie had not come in yet.

The rest of the girls were all pumped and ready like normal for one of these games. Cecelia tried to immerse herself back into cheer and focus on it more. First up was practicing high-kicking for a few minutes to get their bodies warmed up. "Good kicking, Cecelia!" Paulina said to her. "You too, Star! Let's keep those legs up high, girls!"

Cecelia excused herself to the hallway so that she could call Valerie and find out where she was. Cecelia dialed three times but Valerie did not pick up. Cecelia dialed one more time and luckily, Valerie answered. "Cecelia what's going on?" Valerie asked.

"You're waaay late to cheer practice!" Cecelia reminded nervously. "Are you coming at all?"

Valerie groaned. "Ugh, don't remind me. I know! I know! I overslept because I was up late last night! I'll be there in a few minutes. Bye." She hung up.

Not too much later, Cecelia rejoined the group and the cheerleaders began practicing their actual routine. Valerie finally showed up and snuck in as if she had been there all along. Valerie stood next to Cecelia so that they could whisper to each other while doing the cheer. "So…Danny. I was so high on love last night I forgot to tell you that I kissed him!"

Cecelia laughed happily. "No way!"

"Yes way!" Valerie squealed in delight.

Paulina stood in front of the two girls. "I hate to say this but we need to cut the chit-chat and focus on the routine because the game is in half an hour. I want everyone looking their finest!" She smiled. "Come on, we can totally do this!"

After a half hour of practicing part of the routine, Paulina dismissed the girls to get into their outfits and do their makeup. "You all look like beautiful little princesses!" Paulina said cheerfully as the girls came out of the bathroom. Their coaches were certainly proud too. The women generally backed off during practice because they liked the idea of cheer being a student-led thing, and Paulina was voted head cheerleader by a landslide despite only being a tenth grader. All the girls seemed to adore her dazzling personality. The two co-coaches threw in their own imput and tips every now and then though.

Some of the cheerleaders watched as the early football fans started piling in on the bleachers outside. Paulina looked as if she was searching for someone among the crowd. Paulina might seem like an airhead at first impression and she kind of was, but for being such a girly girl she had the nerves of a bulldozer. Very few things could intimidate her and get her to back down if she didn't want to. But this moment was one of the few times Cecelia sensed a sudden nervousness in Paulina that she couldn't quite pinpoint. "Who are you looking for?" Cecelia asked. "Dash is right over there getting ready for the game like always." Cecelia pointed to the large muscular blond quarterback.

Paulina shrugged. "I know Dash is there but I was looking for the host boy. He always comes to football games because he wants to see me! He's my hero!" Paulina said with a smile that deflated quickly.

"So you're cheating on Dash with a…a ghost kid you don't even know…"

"No, no, no. I'm not cheating on Dash because we're over. On-again-off-again relationships tend to be this way, y'know? The ghost boy is who I _really_ want to be with. He has saved me from evil monsters many times and he comes to every game just to wish me good luck."

Cecelia felt like a dunce for not predicting that Danny Phantom would be the one Paulina was waiting to see. Cecelia had to wonder though how there could be so many mixed feelings about this one guy. Her dad and Valerie hated him, but Paulina and some of the other students at Casper practically worshipped the ground he…flew over.

The rest of the practice time basically was spent talking amongst each other and the mad rush of cheerleaders to the bathroom mirrors commenced. They didn't want a single eyelash to be out of place or so it seemed. "It's showtime, everyone!" Star announced to the cheerleaders when the beginning of the game was upon them. "The teams just got announced. That means we're next!" She clapped. "I'm like totally psyched."

"Smiles, everyone!" Paulina said, quickly donning one of her own. .

"And now, here are the Casper High cheerleaders!" The announcer introduced.

The squad skipped across the football field, excited and in a line. This was their big scene…of the week. The music turned on over the field's loudspeakers and the girls did all sorts of acrobatics and gymnastics like twists and turns and flips and kicks. Not a muscle was out of place as they succeeded in selling the win they believed they were going to get tonight. It was over soon and the girls waved their pom-poms as they all took their seats on the front bench that was in front of the bleachers.

Valerie noticed Danny in the audience and she heard him cheer for her with a smile on his face. "Go Valerie!" She waved to him and blushed a little. She had to admit that it was real sweet of him to come here just for her since he never attended regular games. She blew him a kiss.

Cecelia noticed and laughed with her friend. "That was a really sweet thing for him to do for you, coming out like this." Cecelia whispered to Valerie.

The referee blew the whistle and the game was on. Cecelia tried to focus on the football game but she kept getting distracted by the fact that this sport was so rough. It was like all of these guys were just bullying each other and it was rather unsettling to watch. Normally, Cecelia wasn't one to complain about violence, but this was just ridiculous and totally not-entertaining. And Dash was a total meanie to all the players on the rival team.

When Dash had the ball, he would just plow through other guys and knock them to the ground. "Outta my way! Can't you see I'm trying to win the game here?!" Cecelia heard Dash say as he was nearing the end zone and attempting to score.

Valerie stood up, obviously bored by the looks of the game. Dash's aggressive nature and sheer strength would get them the win like usual. "I'm going to sit with Danny." She told Cecelia.

"You do that." Cecelia agreed as Valerie walked up.

"Hi, Danny!" Valerie smiled at him and gave him a hug. And then she sat down in the empty seat next to him. "I'm really glad that you came."

"Me too. We should go out again; that was fun." Danny said in an awkwardly cute way. They continued to talk until another variable flew into the game to spice things up. It was a ghost, and Danny knew him too.

"Bullies! _Bullies_!" A very outlandish ghost kid dressed from the 1950s appeared on the football field all of a sudden. He looked pretty ticked off but with his whole getup, he was hard to take seriously. The football hunks were too big and stupid to even think that an angry ghost could mean they were in danger.

"Outta my way, dweeb!" Dash pushed the uninvited guest out of his way so that he could score a goal. Everyone cheered except for the ghost who had been knocked to the ground.

The ghost's eyes glowed red and he raised his arms as he growled and glared. Suddenly there was a giant dinosaur-like monster in Dash's place. Nobody knew what had happened except for the culprit who had caused it. The football fans screamed in sudden terror. The rival team fled. Dash's team froze in fear as the giant monster wailed at them. The monster took a few football players and threw them into the bleachers. And then he noticed all the scared little teenagers on the bleachers. He picked up Paulina and she screamed like a little girl.

"You put my friend down right now!" Cecelia yelled. That was a stupid move. The monster picked her up in his other hand and she was helpless to stop him. Cecelia squirmed and jerked but she could not break free. "Well, Paulina, I tried!" She yelled out, but Paulina didn't seem to have heard.

The monster turned around and headed for the school, smashing every gate, bench and trash can in his way. Miscellaneous people ran about in effort to get away from him as possible and the parking lot was hounded with cars trying to leave. Some people got impatient and even drove over the grass to get onto the main road. The screeching of tires was loud, but not loud enough to distract Danny. It had all happened so fast but he had a plan. It was the usual scenario of he really thought about it—there was danger and he was the only one who could stop it.

Paulina practically screamed her head off and Cecelia thought for sure that she would faint. Cecelia stopped screaming because she realized it was no use. Who could stop this thing? Who would even dare to try? Cecelia put her hope in the possibility of making a run for it whenever she was set down. All of a sudden, something hit the giant monster and he wailed in pain and turned around. Cecelia could see a ghost kid floating in front of them with hands glowing green. It was _Danny Phantom_. She didn't see that one coming. And once again, she felt like a dunce. If her hands had been free, she totally would have face-palmed.

"Why did you do this, Poindexter?" Danny asked the nerdy ghost who flew up next to him.

"I wanted to show everyone what this guy truly is: a bully. It's not right that he should be at the top of the food chain when he's such a…meanie."

Danny rolled his eyes, remembering back to the time Poindexter easily mistook Dash as the victim and Danny as the bully. "You're out of control. Remember the last time we met? If only you had believed me then that this guy was the bully…n-never mind. Just…change him back." He ordered. "You're the real bully here, can't you see?"

"No." Poindexter protested calmly, folding his arms in an arrogant way. "But if you can defeat him, he will change back to the way he was before and won't remember anything." Danny looked ready to fight and Poindexter did not want to get caught in the crossfire. He had his revenge and so he flew off dramatically, leaving Danny to clean up his mess. If Danny _could_, that is.

Danny sighed. He started firing ectobeam after ectobeam at Dash. But it seemed futile because it didn't even make a dent on him. "Go Danny Phantom!" Paulina cheered adoringly. She and Cecelia had only heard bits and pieces of his talk with the dork who had started this. Danny started blasting Dash with icebeams. Now there was a hit! Dash was completely frozen except for his arms. And his scream proved it. Eventually he was silenced and immobile. Danny pried Cecelia and Paulina out of there and then set them both down on the hard football field ground. "Thank you ghost boy!" Paulina gave him a squeezing hug and a kiss on the cheek. He didn't have time to resist, nor did he have the heart to tell her he had a girlfriend. He wasn't tempted to make a move back, nor did he even expect that.

"Thanks." Cecelia said, smiling for once. Danny looked quite distracted and flustered and it occurred to Cecelia that he might not even remember her.

"Will you go out with me?" Paulina begged him. "Please? I think you're amazing. I've kind of felt that way for a while, even before you saved me so many times."

"I-I have a girlfriend." Danny said rashly, taking a step back. It killed him just a little to reject her like that. He felt so many emotions right now that he didn't know what to make of anything. That was a big part of adolescence of course. Just moments ago everything felt so right and now Danny kind of felt like no matter what move he made, it would be wrong somehow. He reminded himself to just be content in saving people because that was what being a hero was all about—doing the right thing even if it was a big risk. "I gotta go." Danny mumbled and then flew off.

Paulina sighed and stared at Cecelia. "A girlfriend? He probably has some hot ghost girl chick who adores him just as much as I do. Seriously…I loved him first. That should be me." Paulina said sadly and hung her head. She was ready to cry.

"Oh come here." Cecelia gave her friend a hug. "It'll be alright, ya know. At least he saved you."

"But he saved you too. I always thought he came just for me, but he'd save anyone if they needed it." Paulina mentioned. "I can't believe I didn't see that before…I feel like…so totally stupid."

Cecelia smiled in attempt to lighten the mood. "It's okay to feel that way sometimes. In fact I've been feeling it all night. Welcome to the club."

Paulina managed a soft smile after that. They both noticed Valerie and Star approaching fast to find out what had happened. "I'm so glad you're okay, girls!" Star gave them both a hug. "The rest of the girls fled to the locker room to hide. They're kind of in an excited panic now because of the monster but some of them also claim they saw…Danny Phantom?" she looked around. "But I don't see him. It looks like everything's alright now."

"Valerie, where's Danny?" Cecelia noticed he was not there with them. "I mean, your boyfriend Danny, not Phantom."

"Oh, he left. He just screamed pathetically at the sight of the ghost and then ran away. Poor kid. So what happened to the monster?" Valerie looked at the two victims. "Did the big coward run out once the audience left?"

"Danny Phantom saved us." Cecelia answered. "Before you say something like "unbelievable", look over to that hollow ice mound." She pointed, and all of their eyes followed her manicured finger. Dash must have slipped out once he returned to normal size. He probably ran off embarrassed and in search for some clothes.

"Come on, let's get you to the locker room." Star said to Paulina. "You must be pretty shaken up." Cecelia and Valerie followed their friends.

Valerie elbowed Cecelia. "Don't you think it's strange how Danny Phantom knew there was danger in a place so far away from the ghost zone he lives in. Think about it, maybe the whole thing was a setup."

"A setup?" Cecelia asked, opposed to the idea at first. But as she started to think about it more logically, she realized it was definitely a possibility. "No way…" She whispered back. "It makes sense! All this time Paulina thought he came just for her and that was part of his cover, but now that he accidentally admitted he has a girlfriend, Paulina has nothing to do with it! And just when I had started to believe in him too…"

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**Life is going good for me and I hope it is the same for you too. I'm debating on writing a RC9GN fanfic if I can get ideas. Also I drew Wenn Lestri like 20+ times in class yesterday X3 so fun. ****Also I made a facebook page called PrennCooder and I really hope you guys like it when you get the chance :)**

**Have a great day!**


	19. Chapter 19

**Okay, so, going over this chapter I realized the old version had worded some of these scenes so fakely. Like, originally Garth trusted Cecelia immediately and wanted to help her and Cecelia's position was more justified. But I made it way more realistic now where you can see more of Cecelia's flaws, and Garth has a more believable reaction.**

* * *

**Chapter 19**

Sunday night at Tucker's house was the time and location of a Team Phantom meeting. Danny, Danielle, and Jazz were the first to arrive. And next, Sam. Garth was last, and kind of late too. He apologized for it twice, but the gang shrugged it off as nothing which Garth was grateful for. Garth appreciated that Tucker's mom brought them snacks and stuff.

Everyone migrated over to Tucker's bedroom. It was smaller than Danny's and a tight fit but it was also cozy. Jazz made some lighthearted comment about feeling like Team Phantom had become like a club. Tucker and Danny laughed at that. Next, everyone went over any new information they had come across. Danielle took notes as penmanship practice and she thought it would be purposeful anyways in case someone body forgot something.

When it came time for Garth's turn, everyone stared at him. There was an awkward silence as Garth continued to wrestle with a thought that had been in his mind since the last meeting. "I've…decided to…accept the offer and…Train myself to challenge Lyon." Dizziness in his head followed and he felt the world transform into a cloudy blur around him despite the room erupting in laughter, applause, and hope. Tucker's mom probably wondered what warranted such a loud celebration. Garth didn't know what he had just committed to. Well he sort of did, but not completely. Some things in life were meant to be learned along the way.

And as Danny later said, "If you don't take risks, you'll never get anywhere. You might not ever have to experience the pain of bad changes but you'll never feel the reward of the good ones either. I'm proud of you—we all are."

"But I'm warning you—I'll probably let you down. The past several years of my life I have been on a losing streak that I just can't break." The feeling of having such a supportive group to be a part of warmed Garth's heart a little. It kind of hurt to think how he was such a punk and didn't deserve this at all but he wanted it very badly and needed it too. Finally he had mostly accepted truly belonging with them. Garth didn't understand how or why such a good thing had come upon him, but when he accepted that it "just did", Danny's words started to make sense.

"Don't take this the wrong way but perhaps you've been on a losing streak because you're trying to do everything yourself." Danny commented. "You seem to hate relying on others but there are some challenges too big that one person could never handle it alone." Those words resonated in Garth's head long afterwards, even after the fogginess had cleared up. He tried to relax as he headed home. If the rest of the team believed Garth could do it, then why didn't he? They had their perfect lives and happy families so faith was so easy to have. Garth figured he'd call Vincello about it later tonight and get his advice.

The next day was Monday and Cecelia was hanging out at the Government Guys in White lab after school like she usually did. With each passing day, her father had gotten closer and closer to finishing the energy transfer machine which he named the Equator. Cecelia was bored as could be and she had finished all her homework. She was not in the mood for martial arts practice. And to top it off, Valerie wasn't here because she was at Axion labs. Today seemed like one of those lazy, do-nothing days.

Cecelia sat at the front desk watching all the security cameras. The security team was annoyed at her being there but were also too lazy to tell her to get lost. Everything seemed dull and bland until Garth walked in the front doors and it occurred to Cecelia that Garth had been absent several days in the past month. This wasn't the typical time of year for many people to be out sick. In fact it was just him. She wondered if he had some kind of angle. And right now being so bored, she decided to find out.

She decided she would follow him until she learned why he was skipping work. Curiosity had been building in her for a long time, but she just now realized it. She was good at following people, so this could be fun. There was the constant feeling in the back of her throat where she feared being caught in the act. But that feeling only made her curiosity crescendo.

She kept a good safe distance behind him. And she watched him go to his locker and put on his lab coat. Garth was good—perhaps _too_ good—at blending in and going about normal everyday activities subtly like sneaking into a room with a private computer. Garth left the door open just a crack so as not to appear too suspicious or obvious. Despite his slightly awkward demeanor, he had mastered the art of walking silently.

_He's definitely up to no good_, Cecelia thought, _he's taking all the intentional steps to cover his tracks_. In a strange way, she admired him for doing it right though. She pretended like she was in some kind of spy movie. Playing pretend was embarrassingly childish for a teenager, but did she care? Nope. Fortunately, the door's crack was just wide enough for her to be able to see through. She watched Garth as he seemingly hacked into the master computer system from this junk heap of a computer. Her jaw dropped slowly in awe. Her oblivious nature caused her to actually debate in her mind whether this was part of his current job assignment or not. OF COURSE IT WAS NOT!

She squinted to read the writing on the screen. All he had done so far was adjust the days he had not clocked in. It went from "eighteen" down to "seven". Cecelia gasped. _He's cheating? He's making sure he gets paid for days he isn't here. But where could he have been that was so important to go to all this trouble and risk losing the job he's had for like two years? _In a daze, the foolish girl blinked and had a mini panic-attack when she opened her eyes and Garth was no longer sitting in the chair. It took a moment for her brain to think this through. But before she could complete her thoughts, she was yanked inside the room by a strong arm.

"Why are you following me?" Garth demanded in a low tone. The lights were off in the room and the light from the computer screen mixed with the light from the partially opened door cast creepy shadows along his face and lab coat. He looked scary!

Cecelia gasped quietly. "…I just wanted to know why you haven't been reporting to work. You've obviously missed eighteen days this quarter, and who knows how many more." She tried to keep her cool, but the trembling from her adrenaline rush didn't help her case at all.

Garth released her and took a breath to relax. "I've got a lot on my shoulders right now. Don't think I don't need this job because I do. I need the money. But what I need even more than that is time. My fate is sealed. In a few months, my life is over if I'm too slow, too weak, or too stupid. Just one little mistake and all hope is lost. It's not any of your business. Why don't you go hang out with your girls or whatever? Didn't you brag not too long ago about how you're popular because you made the cheer team?" He sighed. "So mind your own business, and stay out of mine." He turned around.

"What are you talking about?" She asked without thinking. He was being nice in not telling on her, but she was pushing it. Garth was a guy who had no patience whatsoever and he hated people prying into his life. Yet still her curious spirit did not leave her.

"Ugh. You just don't know when to quit, do you?" Garth turned back around to face her, obviously irritated. "This is why I haven't been training you like your father wanted me to—I've been training myself. I'm much too busy now. But it looks like you don't need me and that you've got it all together. If you really need another "sensei", you'll find one somewhere else."

"I'm lost." Cecelia shook her head confusedly. "I'm sorry I followed you. But maybe I can help if you tell me your problem. Okay, okay, I probably won't be able to do much realistically, but that doesn't mean I don't care." She smiled at him, hoping he would smile back and they'd have a moment, but he didn't, and so her smile faded.

"I turned someone down for something before. Then I had some time to think it lover and I realized it was a mistake. I have people counting on me now because I have decided to accept this task. I've let too many people down in the past but someone has convinced me that maybe it's time to change my losing streak. I have to fight a very powerful enemy." He confessed. "And if I lose—well, I, uh, _I can't lose_." He had a strong vibration of worry and determination struggling within him. It showed up on his face. Cecelia had never seen him this way.

"Well, maybe we can train together? We might not be fighting the same thing but I think our goal is the same, right? To get stronger? I think we could help each other out."

Garth rolled his eyes. "I see it differently…"

"Please? Teach me what you know. I want to be the best. Maybe I know some moves that you don't know. We can spar each other."

After a long silent pause, Garth sighed. "It's a deal." He agreed. "But you better not be too much of a pain. I'm counting this as a favor so you'll owe me. Come to my house with me tomorrow after school. Talk to your father about it and arrange whatever you need to with him." Cecelia nodded and both of them walked out of the small room. The girl was excited and the boy was relieved. But somehow he felt like he had picked up another burden. He wasn't good at living up to anyone's expectations.

Cecelia took a left down the hallway to get to her father's office. There he was sitting at a desk in that giant laboratory of his. He was working on constructing some part of the Equator. "Hi dad." Cecelia stepped in the room and shut the door behind her. "I was just wondering about the progress you are making." She started off with that so she could ask him about the whole Garth thing later.

"I'm afraid I'm not very far yet. I've just begun to change a few things because apparently some of my calculations were wrong. So I've been making alterations all over the place and basically redesigning the thing. It would take far too long to explain it to someone who isn't a scientist." Mortimer put his work down and faced his daughter. "I'm sorry we don't get to talk very much anymore. I hope you have found things to occupy yourself in your free time."

"Actually, that was what I came in here to talk with you about. I'd like to go home with Garth Lloyd after school a and train with him. I'd like to make this a regular thing—going over to his house so he can teach me new moves."

"Alright He was supposed to be training you anyways, but he never seems to be around, so I just let you go your own way." Mortimer said through his split attention. "How was the game on Saturday?" He asked halfheartedly.

Cecelia remembered Danny Phantom and the monster that had captured her and Paulina. She thought it was all some sort of a trick, a set-up. The memory of him itched in the back of her mind and she wanted to take action but couldn't. She couldn't tell her dad either because she knew he didn't want her in any danger. And if he found out that she had been in danger, he'd pull the plug on the job he gave her. "I had a nice time with my friends Valerie, Star, and Paulina." She told a half-truth.

"Is that all?" Mortimer pried. "Did you meet a boy?"

"A boy?" Cecelia gasped nervously. "No. No! I don't even like any of the guys at our school." She admitted.

"Oh. Well if there's anything you want to tell me, please, feel free to _tell me_."

"Thanks, dad." Cecelia turned to leave.

"One more thing, Cecelia." Cecelia froze with her back to her father. "When are you going to bring me a ghost? Damon Gray told me that a green tattooed ghost lady broke into Axiom labs last night. Luckily, she didn't take anything. The place was completely trashed, though. But the security cameras caught the whole thing—including the part where _Danny Phantom _was there."

"Why is it such a big deal that _he_ was there too?" Cecelia asked, slightly nervous. She didn't even know why she was nervous.

"Because he is _always_ there, Cecelia. He's there at every recent break-in and every attack on that place. It's as if he's guarding it for some peculiar reason. Damon doesn't want to take any chances, so he wants the ghost removed."

"Maybe Danny was trying to protect whatever." Cecelia theorized.

"Or maybe he has a plan of his own. Think, girl, which is more likely? You aren't a child anymore. You can't just coast through life with your brain half-on-half-off. Thinking and reasoning for yourself is a huge part of growing up." Mortimer explained strictly. "There's always a reason for the things they do. It's never for the good of anyone but their kind. And think about Valerie. She must be pretty upset, too. I think that in no time you girls will have Danny Phantom caught and hopefully I'll be done with the Equator by then. I'll be able to test it on him and Damon won't have that menace floating around anymore. Promise me you'll do your part?"

"I won't let you down, dad." Cecelia walked out of the room. "Danny Phantom's going down." She said to herself and then flashed a mischievous smile.

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**Don't forget to fave, follow, and review if you like it :) It makes my day to see new people liking my story. **


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter 20**

It was the next day at school and Cecelia didn't get a chance to talk to her best friend Valerie yet because Valerie had been hanging out with Danny Fenton all day. They sat together at every class and they went to each other's lockers and even walked to class together. Well, next was lunch so Cecelia figured Valerie would finally talk to her. But Cecelia was wrong. When she sat down with Paulina and Star, Dash and Kwan at the A-List table, Valerie sat with Danny over at his table. It was just the two of them sitting alone…again.

Cecelia tried to listen in on Paulina and Star's conversations, but they were all kind of the same after a while. Cecelia didn't tell Paulina that though because it might make her feel bad. Cecelia just nodded her head at the right times and pretended to listen. What dragged her out of it was when Tucker and Sam sat down across from her and away from the popular kids. The A-Listers didn't even seem to notice the losers at their table. "What are you guys doing here?" Cecelia asked in a slight whisper.

"You just looked kinda sad." Tucker said.

"You came to sit with us that other day when I looked down, so why?" Sam smiled.

"Thanks. And you're right—I am kind of sad. Valerie's been hanging out with Danny all day and she's been _ignoring_ me." Cecelia shrugged.

"I know the feeling." Tucker said. "Danny hasn't talked to me either. But I'm still happy for them at the same time, you know? It's kind of like that rock and a hard place saying…I forget how it goes, but you get the point." He laughed. Cecelia, Sam and Tucker looked across the lunchroom to see Valerie and Danny being all cute together and holding hands. Sam looked away quickly. Tucker started eating his cheeseburger automatically.

Cecelia mixed ranch into her fruit salad and she noticed that Sam also had a salad. In fact, Sam always had a salad. "You really like your veggies, huh Sam?"

"I'm an ultra-recyclo-vegetarian." She replied.

"And I'm an all-meat eater!" Tucker interjected proudly. "You like meat way better than veggies, right, Cecelia?" Sam rolled her eyes as Cecelia shrugged indifferently.

"You guys are strange. We should sit together more often." Cecelia said with a smile. The three of them laughed.

Dash and the others had finally stopped their superficial conversation long enough to realize their table had two extra uninvited guests. "Ugh, why are you two losers sitting here?" Dash asked out of annoyance. "Hello, this table for A-List kids only. It's even called the A-List table, for cheerleaders and jocks! Foley, you will never be a jock even in your dreams. And you, creepy goth girl whose name I forget, you'll never be a cheerleader even in your nightmares. So you have to go sit over _there_." Dash pointed to a vacant table.

Sam and Tucker huffed and reluctantly packed up their lunches onto their food trays. They figured they were too lucky in having sat there and not getting caught.

"Wait, guys, don't go." Cecelia said and then turned to Dash. "There's no reason they can't sit here for just one day, right?" She asked innocently.

Star sighed. "I don't like it."

"Neither do I." Dash folded his arms. "I mean, come on, look at them. I can practically feel the coolness being sucked out of me every time they get closer." Kwan laughed at that and Dash gave him a high five.

"Come on, they're my friends." Cecelia pleaded.

"Ugh, you made friends with them?" Paulina was surprised. "Seriously? Aren't your real friends enough?" She motioned to the rest of the A-List table. Cecelia shrugged.

"Hey, we're right here!" Tucker said.

"I know." Paulina could be really snotty when she didn't like someone.

"Oh please, guys, can't we all just get along?" Cecelia said. "They aren't bothering anyone by sitting here."

"Oh fine!" Paulina agreed but she seemed mad about it. Star frowned and Kwan made a disgusted face. Dash glared at the losers and mouthed something quite rude before going back to his conversation.

"Thanks, Cecelia." Tucker said as he and Sam got comfortable again.

"Yeah." Sam finished her salad.

"Is something bothering you right now, Sam?" Tucker asked.

"No. No I'm fine."

"Because if it's the same thing that was bothering you a few days ago I can—"

"I'm fine, Tucker. Just drop it." Sam really didn't want anyone digging into her past, and she didn't want Cecelia to know much either. Sam was trying really hard to put things behind her but Tucker being kind of clueless made that really hard.

Cecelia looked at Sam strangely and came to some bold conclusion she'd probably regret later. But if she didn't say it now, she probably never would and the topic would be all but forgotten. "You're still in love with him, aren't you?" Cecelia looked Sam square in the eye. Sam didn't say a word in response…but her unsettling body language told it all. "You never actually let it go." Cecelia acknowledged. "It all makes sense now." Sam nodded slightly. "Oh geez, I'm so sorry." Cecelia said.

"For what?" Sam questioned suspiciously. "It doesn't involve you at all, and I'd prefer it to stay that way…"

Cecelia sighed and braced herself for the confession she knew was coming. "It was me who helped Valerie get together with him. I encouraged her because she never stopped loving him either. I feel bad now because I only saw her side. I completely understand if you hate me. But the truth is I kind of have been involved."

"I'm just a little upset right now, okay?" Sam said, frustrated. "I only ever had one other boyfriend my whole life and he was a total fraud."

"Maybe the best way to get over him is to find someone else."

"How can you say that?"

"No, I didn't like, mean it in a bad way! I just meant that if you wanted to, you could fall in love with somebody else just as easily as you fell in love with him."

"I've known Danny since forever."

"And I'm sure he's not the only man in your life."

"Actually he kinda is. No offense, Tucker."

"None taken." Tucker replied.

"Well, just give it some thought. And…look around. I'm sure one day you'll find what you're looking for. You'll get over it one day and then you'll look back on it and laugh." Cecelia smiled.

"Thanks." Sam said. Honestly, Sam appreciated the effort Cecelia was making here but still Sam was too hung up on Danny to even notice anyone else. Cecelia noticed that everything Valerie said about Sam was true, but at the same time Sam was not a bad person. It was all about perspective. Impressions were made based off of preconceptions and actual interactions. Cecelia wanted to give Sam a chance. Unfortunately Valerie and Sam's jealousy got in the way of them becoming friends as well. Maybe in time, they could at least learn to live as acquaintances.

After school, Cecelia went to Valerie's locker. There, Valerie and Danny chatted happily. The laughter never seemed to stop. "Oh hi, Cecelia." Valerie greeted. Cecelia knew that Valerie just wanted to be alone with Danny—or alone as they can be in a public hallway.

"Valerie, you haven't talked to me all day." Cecelia started.

"I think I'd better go." Danny said, picking up the social cue.

Valerie kissed him goodbye on the cheek and then he departed. She turned to the brunette. "Look, Cecelia, I'm sorry that I've been ignoring you. But Danny's my boyfriend now. Isn't that great? He called me his girlfriend for the first time this morning! I've never had a boyfriend so special to me before, so this is a big deal to me. I really care about him."

"I know, I know. But could we at least sit together in some of our classes? And hang out after school again once in a while?"

"Yeah, yeah, of course." Valerie agreed automatically with a smile. The closest thing Valerie had to a best friend before Cecelia was Star, but they were never this close. So Valerie didn't know much in the way of the unspoken "girl code". The two of them walked towards the front doors of the school together and began to make small talk. "I saw you sitting with Tucker and Sam today. I'd have to say I'm surprised."

"Well, they're my friends now too now, I guess, in a weird way. Situations have brought us together. You remember that short story assignment awhile back? You know Sam was my partner and I got to know her a little. And Tucker? Well he is a total geek but he's not annoying at all." Cecelia smiled. "I kind of like them even if we have practically nothing in common. They're good people."

"Allright, fine, make friends with them." Valerie said with a slight scoff. "But don't expect me to talk to them."

"That's basically what Paulina said too. She doesn't like them either. But I don't care." Their ways parted here. Cecelia waved goodbye to Valerie, who drove off in her rusty little car. Then the brunette girl waited at the door for Garth to show up. She expected a cheap car or a motorcycle or something. She was quite surprised when she saw him come around the corner. He was _jogging_. "Oh shoot!" Cecelia whispered to herself when she realized that he'd make her jog to his house with him—backpack and all.

"Are you ready for an exciting day of Garth boot camp?" The older teen mentioned to her in bland greeting.

Cecelia sighed, shoving her small pink purse into her backpack so that her hands were free. "How many miles to your house?" She asked in defeat. She also wondered if it was too late to quit

"I dunno." Garth said with a shrug. "It only took me about two hours to jog here."

Cecelia blinked. "…Wh—are you serious?"

Garth laughed ever so subtly. "Let's just get this over with."

The girl sucked it up best she could. She was afraid of her hair turning into a mess from all the movement as well as the sticky sweaty feeling she was bound to get not too long into it. She wished he had warned her before but she basically asked for something like this. Maybe it was a weird sort of payback. It dawned on her that he was eighteen after all and lived alone, so he probably couldn't afford a car. The two of them barely got a half an hour into it before she needed to take a break. He found it all too amusing but she made no comment about it as if she thought it was cool to jog.

"I must say, you're not as fit as I expected, but don't stop now. Keep those knees up!" Garth taunted her. "Come on, cheer princess, this should be a piece of cake for you! And yet, I, who have never done a single fitness extra-curricular, can still jog circles around you!"

"I'll remind you that I'm carrying a ten-pound backpack, and right now it may as well be a two-hundred pound backpack."

Garth just thought her discomfort was the funniest thing. "That may be true, but perhaps a burden isn't always a bad thing. Maybe it will serve to help you later." He realized those own words that he had created on the fly could apply deeper to his own life most of all. He wanted to shake those words instinctively but his inner-conscience had been turned off for too long.

"What…?" Cecelia asked, out of breath and sweating.

"You're carrying something heavy—it might make things harder for you in the moment but your body's actually working harder to lift the additional weight so you'll get more muscle if you keep at it consistently. Basically it'll make you stronger faster."

"How…did you get to be so strong anyways?" She asked, still panting. "Because you know fortune-cookie sayings or what?"

Garth rolled his eyes. "No, it's easier than that. I set a goal to jog for at least five hours every week. I switch it up so it doesn't become routine and so that my body will remain alert. As a child, I trained in several martial arts. I took lessons up until I was twelve, and then I stopped. I just lost interest."

"What happened when you were twelve?"

"Changes." Garth answered, immediately regretting he had mentioned that age at all. "Anyways, I still remember a lot from those days and I'm getting into it again."

"What made you get into it again? Anything to do with our previous talk?"

"More…changes." Garth looked at the street sign and shrugged. He hoped she wouldn't pry too much. Perhaps a change of subject could distract her? "So what's it like being popular? I was a loser back when I was in high school."

"It's great." Cecelia answered. "I love it." They continued to jog for a while as Cecelia rambled of life as an A-Lister and Garth occasionally added in an anecdote from his own high school experiences.

He tried to keep it positive for her sake. The time flew by once they stopped thinking about the exercise itself and just let their mind be taken over by imagination of each other's pasts. "My house is just around the corner. Think ya can make it?" Garth asked.

"I suppose." She said with a laugh.

"You say that word a lot."

"I _suppose_ I do."

"Well, I need a yes or a no. Don't ever "suppose" to me again." He said coldly.

Cecelia was silent for a moment. "Yes, I can make it."

"Good." Garth stopped Cecelia in front of a small 2-floor home with old rotting shingles and slightly browned grass. The place was not very well kept but Garth couldn't afford anything better since he lived alone.

"Nice place." Cecelia lied and Garth knew it. She looked at the slight dirt driveway and saw that he did in fact have a car. Oh well, there wasn't much that could be done about it now that they were already here. Garth opened the door and took Cecelia up to one of the two bedrooms. This room had been converted into an exercise room. There was a punching bag and a few sets of weights and a bench press as well as a floor mat.

"What kind of exercise do you usually do?" Garth asked her.

"Oh, I do a few sit-ups to warm up and then I do my kicking." Cecelia gave Garth a demonstration. "Then I go over the cheer routines several times in front of the mirror to makes sure I've got all my moves firm and correct."

"That's quite the kick you've got there." Garth began to show Cecelia how to handle one-on-one combat more smoothly. True, Cecelia was fairly agile, but she lacked finesse, which was Garth's strong point. Garth would never admit it, but he could learn a thing or two from her as well. Through their conversation, she had inadvertently caused him to remember back to the time when he did martial arts for innocent fun on a regular basis.

Those days were somewhat pleasant, actually. Those days lacked responsibility. That was back when he was completely human and didn't have any monsters to worry about. Of course back then he was also lacking in something quite important that he didn't realize till recently…_friends_. If he didn't have the "burden" of the amulet that was inside of him, he never would have the chance to befriend that group. That…Team Phantom.


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter 21**

The more Cecelia practiced her skill, the more adrenaline she had. She wanted to fight ghosts NOW. She wanted to kick butt like some kind of superhero! She wanted to win. She wanted the thrill and the feeling of accomplishment. She wanted to make her father and Garth proud for having believed in her. Being a teenage girl, she had the common delusion that people cared in different ways than they did, and that people were sympathetic to her cause. Well if this delusion was going to help her succeed, she was not inclined to try to grow out of it. "You're like the brother I never had." She said to Garth. "I wonder if you'll start to see other sides to me."

Garth shrugged. "Whatever. I've pretty much got you all figured out. You're kind of obvious, you know? And completely clueless about it."

"Really?" She asked in awe as they continued in their training together.

"Yeah and you are so happy too, it almost reminds me of—never mind. But a brother? Hmm I dunno. I'm so used to the idea of having no family. Even though I, er, have one technically, but I can't stand them. I have an older brother, and I'm way better off without them. So just think of me as your friend for now."

Cecelia nodded. "I understand. So what other hobbies do you have?"

"Um work takes up a lot of my life when I'm not exercising or doing things for the house. See, all the cleaning and bills and taxes fall on me. I was never that great at math so it takes me longer than it would, say, an educated adult. But when I can, I enjoy um…hanging out with…friends." That last bit was added awkwardly, because he almost mentioned it was just Vincello, but he actually could use the plural form of "friend" for once!"

"That's cool. I like to meditate." Cecelia said. "When I'm not too busy doing girly things like taking care of my hair and nails and skin…and then there is homework. I don't like it but I have to do it. Friends make everything better though, I must say."

"That's…different." He replied.

"I'm sorta into all that Native American stuff. I don't do it very often anymore but back in middle school I had all the time in the world."

"You could show me." Garth said as they had both begun to feel tired from the exercises. "Why not?"

Cecelia grinned. "Like totally! It's very relaxing. And you look like you don't get much chill time so it will help you a lot." Cecelia sat down on the mat and Garth sat down facing her. "Just close your eyes…" Cecelia began in a whisper. "And try to imagine a happy place…" They had changed each other's lives and would continue to do so little by little. Cecelia's desire for justice against ghost was fueled by peaceful ideals but it would still take her a bit of a while to realize she and Danny Phantom were fighting for the same thing. The enemy he barely knew he had would one day become his friend but that day was still afar off.

One day not too long after, Cecelia got up early and jogged to school. She felt inspired! On top of the world! Everything was going right! She was not going to take this whole fitness thing lightly. She had also made plans for her and Valerie to stakeout Axion labs tonight. It was the perfect test to see if training with Garth had helped her improve. "Hi Valerie." Cecelia and Valerie walked to class together. "Are you ready for tonight?" She asked with a grin.

Valerie laughed. "Oh I hope so! I can't wait!"

"Geez, I've never seen you this excited for a stakeout before."

"Stakeout? What? Oh no, that's not tonight is it?" Valerie asked nervously. "I kinda made other plans…sorry. Danny and I are going out tonight. I'm hoping he's going to ask me to that cheesy fall dance coming up. It'll be right after a big game so it's practically a second homecoming! Yay! You don't look too excited…"

"Oh yeah, I've been looking forward to that too. I know there's the game—which we're going to be at. But why is a dance so important in your social life?"

"It's a chance to look pretty in front of everyone." Valerie explained. "It's one of those nights of the year where I go all out. You should too. You need to get yourself a hot date. With your looks, I know you can. Then maybe we can double date! It'll be fun! Come on, forget about lame ghosts for once. I know this sounds odd coming from me but…Cecelia, trust me, this night will be worth it!"

Cecelia thought for a moment about the guys she knew. Any hotties? First there was Tucker, whom she had no interest in whatsoever. Then there was Garth. She didn't feel that way about him either. He was a punk—not her type. What was her type? Did she even have one? And there was Dash. But no, just no. There was only one way this was going to work. Maybe Garth would agree to just go as friends? It would be awkward for the both of them but maybe a new experience would be good for them too?

After school, Cecelia found that Garth was not there to jog with her. So she jogged to his house. She rang the doorbell three times before Garth finally answered. "Cecelia, hi." He stood in front of the door, blocking the way so that she could not get in, or see in. "What's up?" He asked in surprise.

"Who's there?" Another voice came from inside the house. Cecelia hadn't seen this coming at all. A girl appeared next to Garth. "Cecelia?"

"Sam?" Cecelia's eyebrows rose. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm following _your_ advice, actually." She replied defensively. "I asked my friend here to that dance coming up. With Tucker encouraging me too, I finally figured it's a great idea. Besides, we are going as just friends and nothing more. I think it's pretty weird you followed me here though."

Cecelia put her hand on her forehead and felt a sudden headache spike up. That should be _her_ standing next to Garth in the doorway, not Sam. in retrospect, Cecelia understood now how both Valerie and Sam felt because she was sort of in their position now. Cecelia mentally smacked herself for getting worked up over a relationship that was completely platonic anyway! What was she doing? She was more upset about being left dateless. Was it too late to be considering Dash? Sam just stared at her, a frown forming.

"What? No, I didn't follow you! That WOULD be weird. No, no…Garth is my fitness trainer. He helps me out after school." Cecelia explained. Garth let her into his house now. "And I was just coming over for…my lesson." She lied to cover up what would have otherwise been very awkward. She was somewhat relieved that she wouldn't have to ask such a frighteningly brooding guy to that event.

"Oh, okay, that's cool." Sam acknowledged. She looked at Garth and smiled. "So I'll see you at six." Sam headed out the door.

"I'll see ya." Garth waved goodbye. He turned to Cecelia once Sam was out of hearing range. "So what are you _really_ doing here?" His wyes became slits.

"That doesn't matter now." She replied automatically. "So are you going to train me or what?"

"I didn't expect to be training you _every_ day." He stared at her weirdly. "You need to keep things up on your own and if you have a problem, call me." They exchanged phone numbers. It wasn't awkward though, as Garth thought it would be.

"That sounds fair. So how did you meet Sam?" She asked curiously.

"How did _you_ meet Sam?" Garth asked in reply. He knew he couldn't tell her about Team Phantom without permission so he had to stall while coming up with something else.

"School, of course." Cecelia laughed. "Now how about you?"

"Sam and I, we, uh, we're part of this team." Garth didn't know of a way to word it where Cecelia wouldn't ask a bazillion questions. Cecelia gave Garth a confused look. "We…fight monsters." Garth told a half-truth. He didn't want to say the word ghost.

"You and Sam…fight monsters…together?"

"Yeah." Garth answered shortly. Cecelia still looked confused. He shook his head. "No, no. There are other people on the team too." He stammered.

"Like, who? Anybody I know? Is it those two friends Sam hangs out with at school?"

"_I hope not_." He said under his breath. "You wouldn't happen to know Tucker Foley and Danny…"

"Fenton?" She asked with wide eyes.

"Yep, that's the one."

"Actually, I do know them."

"Greeeat." Garth said sarcastically. He was afraid of that. Amity Park was a small world. With all the people running around this place Garth usually wanted nothing more than to stay out of it but there was no denying that people from that high school were connected in weird ways. He knew that Cecelia must not know about Danny's half-ghost side because if she did she'd have tried to blast him to bits by now.

Maybe she was already one of his enemies, along with Valerie. Then again, according to Sam, Danny was dating Valerie also. This was one twisted world they lived in. it was messed up. Everyone seemed to have two faces the deeper Garth got involved. Friends were enemies and enemies were dating…Garth was sick of it all! He was starting to want out.

"You wouldn't happen to know anything about Danny _Phantom_, would you?" Cecelia asked innocently.

That was it. That was the final question. Garth couldn't lie his way out of it. He got a little nervous, but he didn't show it. "Yeah, yeah, he's the ghost that your father told you to hunt down."

"Have you ever seen him?"

"Seen him? Yes, on rare occasion I have seen him flying around the town."

"But have you ever met him?"

Garth didn't want to answer. He didn't want to fib either. He knew that with a girl like Cecelia, one question would lead to another. "…Yes." He replied.

"Oh." Cecelia didn't expect that answer. "Have you ever, like…fought him? With your team and stuff? Isn't that what you do?"

"No, no, no." He stared. "I-I mean yes, it is what we do, but no we don't fight that one…"

"Tell me about him. He is my target so I should get to know him after all. Any weaknesses you have observed in him? He is stronger than I expected but I think with your help I'll be able to take him down."

Garth had a hot flash as he finally realized what hall he had been doing this time. He had been playing on both sides himself without realizing it! Why hadn't it dawned on him sooner? Everything was so confusing he knew he had to be missing something! He had been helping Cecelia and at the same time trying to pass off as a member of Danny Phantom's team. He didn't deserve them at all! He knew it! All along!

He wasn't meant to be a part of their group because he made mistakes like this. Danny was wrong—the losing streak was still going strong. Garth had just made a mistake he couldn't come back from and the only way to fix it…was…to quit on both ends. He still planned on following up with challenging the dragon prince later on, but, now he didn't know what to do about all of these people. "I really don't know that much about him." He said sadly. That was true.

"You should come with me tonight to stakeout Axion labs. I'm pretty sure Danny Phantom will make an appearance since he's been watching the place."

"Watching it? You don't say…" Garth pretended to be surprised though he knew exactly what Danny had been doing.

"Yeah. Valerie is hoping that he won't make a visit while she's not there to protect it."

"Maybe _he's_ the one protecting it from other ghosts."

"That's highly unlikely."

"Where will she be anyways?"

"On a date with Danny Fenton."

Garth then realized that there really _wouldn't_ be anybody guarding Axion labs tonight since Danny would be gone. He reluctantly agreed to do the stakeout with her just in case some ghost should show up and try to steal from the lab. Maybe he could finally do something right in his life by protecting that place in the hero's absence. "You're no Valerie, but you're still a friend." He said. "I'll come with you on your stakeout on one condition—you forgive me for not training you anymore. I'm sorry—I can't do it. I thought I could, but it appears I've bitten off more than I can chew in multiple areas of my life. Sorry to let you down again."

Cecelia shrugged. "It's alright." She admitted. Suddenly she didn't feel like she was on top of the world anymore. Garth arrived at the lab at around eleven at night. It was Cecelia who let him inside.

"This is going to be fun. Oh joy." Garth said with heavy sarcasm. He looked around at the gigantic laboratory. It was seemingly empty. "Everything looks turned off. Is there even anyone still here?"

"There is minimal security—it's all the lab can afford to pay for with all of the break-ins recently. Other than the officers, Mr. Gray is the only other person still in the building." Cecelia turned on her suit that Valerie gave her. She didn't turn on the hover board, though. And then she put on a pair of yellow safety goggles that were also from Valerie. She then armed herself with a small ecto gun and a large plasma gun and the tracker. "All I have to do is get Danny Phantom's DNA and then I'll be able to find him anywhere, anytime."

Garth had to make it his personal mission not to let that happen because he had made an alliance with Danny. "It's just a hunch, but I don't think Danny Phantom will show up." Cecelia gave Garth a weird look. She tiptoed around as if someone else was there besides the two of them. "What are you doing?" Garth asked sheepishly.

"Shhh! There are ghosts about! Don't you hear that?" She whispered.

Garth listened. What he heard was the muffled rattling of metal coming from a few rooms over. It was definitely a suspicious sound—either a very upset employee or…something not too friendly. Garth's blood rushed to his head and instantly he was afraid. But he never showed fear, which was why Cecelia thought he was the braver one of their duo. That was definitely true. Garth didn't want to fight a ghost now!

He felt so dumb for having agreed to this. He should have just told her he'd do the job himself. What if it was a dragon? Garth couldn't reveal his secret to Cecelia. She'd turn on him for sure! He'd lose her loyalty and her trust forever. Was it really worth it all to play hero for the night? Garth didn't even know anymore…the more he learned, the less he really knew.

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**Remember to keep reviewing if you like it :D Thanks for reading!**


	22. Chapter 22

**Chapter 22**

The feeling of fear seeped through Cecelia's skin and went straight for her heart. But she had been a coward for too long and could not let this stop her. She took Garth's wrist and pulled him along gently. She pressed a button and her suit turned her whole body intangible. And since she was holding onto Garth, he turned intangible too. "Don't freak out." Cecelia warned him. "It's just a precaution."

Garth rolled his eyes. He had done that before all on his own but Cecelia wouldn't understand. Slowly but steadily, the two creeped down the long, tall corridor deep inside Axion Labs. Garth held his breath for fear that a ghost would jump out at them. Cecelia squinted her eyes and blended into her surroundings, like a feline waiting to strike at its prey. She turned her head slowly to look at the hall for any suspiciousness. As they walked on, the sound grew more boisterous.

Cecelia turned them tangible again. "This is where it's coming from." Cecelia whispered to Garth. The two of them faced a large black door. Cecelia turned the handle slowly. The handle was cold as ice and her warm, clammy hand left fingerprints on it. Cecelia and Garth stepped inside a large laboratory with many fancy gadgets and things scattered around the room. This icky sticky feeling of fear mixed with adrenaline made Cecelia want to puke. But if she did, it'd be a good puke.

They realized that the room was all cluttered. But it was too late; the door closed behind them. It was an old vulture ghost that closed it. "Just who are you and what are you doing here at this hour?" A second vulture ghost appeared and stood in their way. And a third vulture ghost and a blond boy were rummaging through items in the lab.

Cecelia and Garth tuned visible again. She thought they had made a cool entrance but they were really quite screwed. "The question is: Who are _you_? I don't think any of you belong here!" Cecelia she professed as she glared at the ghosts and powered up her ectogun. Garth assumed a fighting stance and kept his poker face cool.

"We know that, a-DUH!" One of the vultures swerved at Cecelia. She flinched as he started to peck at her. Then when she was distracted enough, he picked up her gun with its talons. "Well that was easy!"

Garth charged into action, swinging at the birds but only missing. They were too fast! It was like they had been in the practice for a few hundred years or something. "You shouldn't have come over here." The other vulture grabbed Cecelia's plasma weapon, leaving her with only her tracker. She held it in her hands and kept her eyes on both of the vultures.

Garth was so scared that he trembled. He was out of breath too, for some weird reason. Self-esteem got him down as it was at an all-time low. How could he ever amount to anything if he couldn't even protect this place like he thought? If he couldn't get rid of a few pesky ghost fowls? His brother was right—he would never amount to anything.

As a halfhearted and desperate last resort, Garth reached for the one weapon he had armed himself with—a stinger. It was supposed to zap ghosts with voltage and render their powers useless, but since it was made in Fenton Works—given to Garth by Danny—it probably wouldn't work right. But he fired it anyways, because he had no choice. A blast was in fact released, but due to Garth's shaky hands, the targets were not reached.

"Ha-ha!" The vultures taunted. "Missed!" Garth glared daggers at them.

The blond boy looked up from what he was doing. "QUIT FOOLING AROUND!" He ordered. "Can't you imbeciles do anything right? You—" He pointed to two of the vultures. "Destroy them!" He bellowed, pointing towards Cecelia and Garth. The girl gasped.

This guy was around Cecelia's age and his eyes were an unusually awkward shade of green. That was because they were colored contacts that hid his true eyes which could be a dead giveaway for who he really was. That is, these people wouldn't know what they were looking at even if they did see his eyes. He had dark bags under his eyes too.

His hair used to be trimmed to a neat bowl-cut, but now it had grown out to a who-knows-what. He was clad in all black. He had fangs, but they were hard to notice over his constant yelling. He looked kind of scene or emo—whatever. But there was something different about him that set him apart from the other members Cecelia and Garth had seen of that subculture. "Keep looking!" The blond commanded to the third vulture, who continued digging in a pile of machinery.

After grumbling something unpleasant to himself, the boy turned back to where the first two vultures had encircled Cecelia and Garth. The birds pecked at their enemies and also threw things at them that they could grasp with their talons. Cecelia never thought she'd get her own weapons thrown back in her face. Garth had to wrestle to keep his. Every time he tried to shoot it at the ghosts, one of them threw themselves at it and made the blast swerve its course. These villains were loyal to each other and also very coordinated.

"What are you _doing_?!" The blond asked with attitude. "We're going to win. I've seen it already. Now, what are you waiting for? Don't hold back! _Pulverize them_!"

"Who are you, ghost?" Cecelia asked the blond boy with all the confidence she had left. She wondered why so many ghosts targeted this place. It couldn't be just for the weapons, could it? "What are you here for?" She asked, since Garth was not a big talker.

"I'm not a ghost, stupid." The blond boy sneered as he approached them slowly. "So shut up." His posture and face were cold and ruthless. Unyielding and daunting was that controlling, rebellious, almost gothic glare. His vulture had found what they were looking for. The other two vultures had successfully tied up Cecelia and Garth after pecking at Cecelia's suit and rendering it broken and useless.

Despite Cecelia and Garth's karate moves, the ghosts still overpowered them. This had poor Garth wondering how he could ever hope to challenge the dragon prince even in his wildest dreams. "Help!" Garth yelled, finally pushing aside his pride for better reasoning. "SOMEBODY HELP!"

"The only other human in the whole building is Mr. Gray, and he's already a little tied up right now if you know what I mean." One of the vultures informed them with a laugh. "So your put a cork in it with your useless cries or we'll have to gag you. Nobody can year you except us and your pathetic human voices are perfect pains to our ears."

Garth growled. "You'll never get away with this!" He hissed.

"Oh yeah? Well I don't see anyone around to stop us." One of the vultures replied as he and the others continued digging through things.

"What are your names? Who do you work for?" Cecelia glared at the blond kid with disgust in her eyes. "How can you let them do this? Huh? If you're not a ghost then you're a human too! Come on, isn't there any humanity in you? Don't you want to do what's right?"

He glared right back at her with a powerful stare. "This world isn't made up of just ghosts and humans, you know." He glared at her with crazy eyes. "I do believe I told you to shut up…"

She felt a shocking pain in her head and her vision fuzzed a bit. She felt like crying as she knew that pain had to be coming from him. But what was he and how could he emit this feeling of pain straight into her head from six feet away? She refused to take her eyes off him, and didn't make a sound or a struggle. Garth watched in anger. He felt helpless to do anything to save them.

"Not that it matters to you, but I work for the _best_." The blond enunciated. "I'm lucky I got employed early. He's the true leader of this world and everyone knows it even if they won't admit it. And one day he will acquire the power he's been longing for. I intend to help him do just that." The wicked teen smiled evilly as the vultures blindfolded Cecelia and Garth and gagged their mouths too. "Finally I won't have to hear your voices anymore…"

Cecelia and Garth squirmed with all their strength, but soon all was silenced around them. Sounds faded out and their senses felt drained. Garth wondered if the cloths had been drugged, or if that boy had done something to them using some kind of power. They felt nothing tough them but then again, senses were easily fooled. All they could do was wait till dawn. It took them hours for their bodies to calm down but they eventually fell over out of exhaustion and need of sleep. This wasn't supposed to be an all-nighter.

In the morning, it was Valerie—and a lab worker—who found them. Cecelia explained the whole thing to Mortimer, Valerie, and Damon. Garth just snuck out the back anonymously and ran to Danny's house to tell him what had happened. Forget fairness—Garth had time to think back there when he was tied up. Perhaps there was a way that his whole "playing both sides" theory wasn't what he thought at all. Well it was in a way, but if he could bring those sides together to fight a common enemy…

After Cecelia finished explaining everything, Valerie gave her a hug. "I'm so glad you're okay. Did you get the blond guy's DNA?"

"No. He looked human, not ghost. But there was something freaky about him I couldn't put my finger on. And the tracker doesn't work on humans." Cecelia was disappointed. She felt like her whole little mission was a complete failure. Without the suit, she'd have to rely on her own tracking abilities.

"Don't worry, Cecelia, you'll get other chances." Cecelia's father reassured her.

"And at least we have an eyewitness to the burglaries this time." Damon said. "What do you think they wanted with a charger anyways? That's all that was missing."

Cecelia shook her head. "I really don't know. I'm sorry I couldn't be more of help. Garth and I fought bravely but we were at our wits' end back there looking like a set of idiots. That's why we need you, Valerie."

Valerie didn't like being put on the spot like that. Certainly the last thing in the world she wanted to think was that Danny had been distracting her from her priorities. "Well, whatever it is, Cecelia and I will be here to stop it." Valerie said bravely.

"But you _weren't_ here." Cecelia said regretfully and Valerie frowned.

"I know. And I'm sorry. I won't let you down again." Valerie said. "But seriously, can you stop ragging on me for that?"

Meanwhile Garth, despite being exhausted, ran all the way to Danny's house in the hopes of catching him before he went out somewhere. Garth frequently lost track of time but Half past seven in the morning was the time normal kids ate breakfast, right? Garth rapped on the door to Fenton Works, hoping he was not too late. Danny's mom answered the door that faded when she looked Garth over. "Danny?" She questioned in a call. "I have one of your…school friends…here?"

Danny had been at the kitchen table eating with his father and sisters. He was confused to begin with but when he saw Garth he hurried up outside. He gave his mom a look and she went back to the kitchen. "Garth? What are you doing here?" Garth proceeded to explain all that had happened last night. He went out on a limb and asked Danny for forgiveness as he described Cecelia's position and how he had been helping her.

Danny seemed to forgive easily, but he didn't know how the rest of the team would react. Garth was relieved with himself and he hoped that he had made the proper choice in moral judgment. Garth left and Danny went back inside. As Danny sat back down, he pushed his cereal aside. "What's wrong, sweetie?" Maddie asked Danny, calling it to everyone's attention that he was sad. He didn't want that.

"I'm—nothing. I'm just full." With a forced smile, he headed upstairs. He texted Tucker asking him to meet him at his house as soon as he could so they could walk to school together. Danny and Tucker had been going to each other for advice for a long time and a long walk was the perfect way to talk things over.

This was one of those situations where the right thing was hard to figure out. He knew Garth was sincerely sorry but he had caused a problem of unknown size and damage. Danny still felt betrayed and hurt but he would get over it soon. As he entered his bedroom and changed from pajamas to school clothes, he could not shake thoughts of what in the world Valerie would think if she knew he was Danny Phantom. He had been pretending this was all perfect for too long.

On one hand he wanted to keep his near-perfect girlfriend but he'd soon find himself in a very sad place if she didn't accept his ghost side. It all depended on if her love was stronger than her hate. Danny thought he knew which ran stronger in her but he really didn't. Perhaps if he could convince one of the girls that he was a good guy, then the other would eventually believe it too. He just needed the right chance.

In a different area of town the Manson family went about morning routine. Jeremy and Pamela had always been rich. They lived in a big mansion on a green hill. They were happy-go-lucky, but had not always been lucky. They had a daughter and she was just about as disagreeable as can be. She was a goth. Jeremy and Pamela did NOT like goths, because goths were anti-cheer. And the Manson couple was _known_ for having loads and loads of…cheer.

Jeremy's business company had been thriving for the past twenty years, and their expanses are ever widening. Just recently, they had opened up new buildings in France. A good chunk of the Manson family lived in France, including Sam's perky red-headed Aunt Jackie. One bright morning, Jeremy woke up and had an omelet for breakfast and his wife made some French toast. Sam's grandmother rolled around in her wheelchair to greet them.

That's when he got idea. "Pamela, here's a crazy idea: let's move to France. We talked about it months ago but now I think is finally the right time. I know business will be better there. Our little Sammykins will be able to go to private school. You're always telling me how Jackie says Paris is breathtakingly beautiful at night."

"What a splendid idea, Jeremy!" Pamela said. This is why they had happy marriage—they almost always agreed. "I can't wait to tell Sam! She'll be so happy!"

Sam was still in her bedroom sleeping because she frequently skipped breakfast. Jeremy and Pamela trotted into the dark cave Sam called her room. "Good morning, sunshine!" Jeremy said. He pulled the drapes open.

"Sam, sweetie, we have something to tell you." Pamela gently shook her daughter awake. "We have some big news…"

"What is it?" Sam groaned tiredly. "And would you shut those curtains please?"

"Sweetie, we've decided to move to France!" Pamela cheered. She and Jeremy gave a long speech about how much better it would be there and Sam thought she was dreaming. The goth girl flopped her head back into her bead, hoping this nightmare would end. It took the ringing of her alarm clock for her to realize this _wasn't_ a dream.

What was she going to do? This couldn't be happening! Was there a way out? There had to be! This was just too stupid! How could she ever tell her friends? How could she cope? Based on their whole speech, she only had a few months left here. She'd have to make the most of it because it definitely would go by fast. She'd miss them so much…her friends…even those she barely got to know like Garth and Cecelia.


	23. Chapter 23

**Chapter 23**

"We're going to destroy the equator." Danny said to Tucker as they began their walk from Danny's house to the school. "We _have_ to. If it is completed, then Dr. Hazel will use it to eradicate ghosts starting with me."

"So why are you upset that it'll have to go?" Tucker was still lost.

"Because if it's destroyed, Cecelia's father will lose his job and his money and they'll suddenly be faced with lots of debt. I heard Cecelia lived in an above-average-sized house. It won't be good for Valerie and her dad either. And this will all make Valerie hate Danny Phantom even more." He explained. "But…I'm willing to take the blame for it. I'm willing to risk losing Valerie if she ever finds out my identity. True, there are many evil ghost in the world who need to be stopped for good but the Equator is not the way to do it. I'm going to come up with a plan of attack soon enough and I'll need your help to do it. All of you."

"Oh." Tucker realized. "I thought you called me over here to get advice but it looks like you've already made up your mind. Oh well, we'll still back you up, as always."

"I just came up with this conclusion this morning so you're the first one who's heard it. I'm hoping we can all get together for a meeting later." Danny looked at Tucker's PDA he was carrying. "Oh geez, it's already eight o'clock. We'll be late unless we fly." Danny grabbed his best friend by the arm, looked all around and saw that no one was watching, and then pulled him into the air and turned invisible. They flew to the school.

Danny and Tucker found themselves running into class in hopes of not being tardy. They slowed down to walk into Mr. Lancer's classroom just as the bell began to ring. "Glad you decided to join us, Mr. Fenton and Mr. Foley. Take your seats quickly before I forget whether or not you came in before the bell or after the bell."

Quickly, Danny and Tucker took seats at the back of the classroom. They couldn't afford any more tardies for this semester or else they'd receive detentions. "Whew!" Tucker said. He was lucky that Mr. Lancer proceeded with the lesson instead of writing up detention slips. He gave Danny a fist bump.

As the class began like usual, Danny had his tired head resting on one of his hands as he watched Valerie, who was sitting a few seats in front of him. He looked at her with a love-struck gaze, hoping she would turn around so that he could see her smiling face. When she didn't, he tore off a piece of paper and wrote "Will you go to the dance with me?" and had the kid in front of him pass it up the row until it was in Valerie's hands.

Valerie looked around the room until she spotted Danny and then she mouthed yes to him. He smiled and she smiled back. Valerie turned around to see Mr. Lancer standing at her desk. "Aaaah!" She was startled. There were scattered chuckles from the rest of the class.

Mr. Lancer took the note from Valerie's hand. He read it. "I'm not sure what this has to do with English, but I'm sure you two are straight A students since you have time to write notes instead of paying attention." Valerie winced, expecting Mr. Lancer to read the note aloud or give them some extra assignment or something. She was lucky that he gave it back to her and resumed blathering on about the lesson. Truth be told, Lancer was not as bad as the students thought he was. He was a very frustrated person, but a good man nonetheless.

Soon, it was lunchtime. Danny and Tucker found their way to Sam and the three of them sat at their usual table. "Why are you so happy today?" Sam asked Danny glumly.

"Valerie said yes!" Danny smiled with cheer.

"Now we can triple date!" Tucker patted his friends on the back. "At last."

"Oh joy." Sam said sarcastically.

"No, really. You and Garth, Danny and Valerie, and Cecelia and I. Look, there are the girls now." Tucker said as Valerie and Cecelia sat down at the table. "Valerie said she would talk to Cecelia about it, right?" Valerie sat across from Danny and they looked into each other's eyes. Cecelia sat across from Tucker and he stared at her. She avoided his eyes. Sam, who felt like a fifth wheel, ate her salad slowly. "So are all six of us going together or what?" Tucker asked the group. "Cecelia, you'll be my date?"

Cecelia looked around the table. "Wait…what? Valerie just asked me to come sit here…what?" Valerie choked down a bunch of her food suddenly to fill up her mouth so she didn't have to say anything. Cecelia stared at her.

"Valerie talked to you about it, didn't she? That you'll go with me so we can triple date?" Tucker questioned, his smile fading.

Cecelia frowned. It wasn't like she had any other choice. Without him she was dateless. "Yes sure. Fine. Whatever. I'll go with you…"

"BOO-YEAH!" Tucker cheered. "I got a hot date! Wohoo!"

Cecelia face-palmed. _What did I just agree to_, she asked herself.

"Yeah. My dad said he'll drive us all in my family's RV." Danny said.

"How embarrassing." Sam noted. "I think it'd be cool if we all just walk…"

Tucker gave her a weird look. "What's your problem?"

Sam sighed as they all looked at her when there was silence. "Ugh, this morning I got a big bomb dropped on me, okay? My parents told me that we're moving to France in a few months. They say it's because of my dad's business but I also know they think I've been too depressed lately. They're going to send me to private school and we'll be living with my Aunt Jackie. They want me to perk up and think Jackie will be able to influence me. But she's a nightmare. She's basically Paulina with orange hair." Sam had a hopeless expression on her face.

"Well, I'm really going to miss ya." Tucker said.

"Me too." Danny admitted. "We'll web chat you; don't worry."

"Yeah!" Tucker smiled in encouragement. "Just because its long distance doesn't mean you're out of our lives forever! You can't get rid of us that easily." He nudged her arm playfully.

"Thanks, guys." Sam felt a little better now, but still not completely. "It won't be the same but I appreciate it."

"I'm sure it won't be as bad as you're thinking. I have a wacky cousin too: Bob. He's a total cheesebrain." Tucker was trying to lighten the mood and expected laughs from people, but the most he got was smiles. "So don't worry. If I can handle _him_, you can handle Jackie."

"Yeah and spending time with my cousin Carter's not a walk in the park either." Danny confessed. "She's a total snob."

On the way to class, Sam pulled Tucker and Danny aside. "Guys, are you sure it is a good idea to be doing this?" She asked. "The whole…triple date thing?"

"Don't tell me you're starting to get cold feet about your "date", Sam." Tucker remarked confidently. "Of course it's a great idea! I've lost count of how many times my inner-conscience has thanked me for being such a charmer in the last hour. Thank goodness for that, or else Cecelia would never have agreed to it. We've all got dates for the first time since ever and so we can still hang out at the dance without having to feel awkward around each other."

"Great speech, Tuck." Danny said as he gave his friend a high five. The two guys walked away with smiles on their faces but Sam still had a whirlpool of mixed emotions that she just couldn't make sense of. She sighed and went along with it for now.

After school, Cecelia went over to Sam's locker. "Hey. Would you like to go dress-hunting at the mall with Valerie, Star, Paulina and I?" Cecelia smiled. "It might not be your first choice for spending an afternoon but I bet you'll enjoy it if you give it a chance."

"To find a dress for the dance? Gee, I dunno. You probably won't be going to a store that has the kind of fashion style I like."

Cecelia shrugged. "Decide fast. The girls are waiting. We're all going to head down right now." She motioned to the front end of the school and started walking.

"Wait." Sam said. She closed her locker and grabbed her purple spider backpack. "Maybe I will come after all." It was a longshot but maybe if she came home with a few dresses, she could convince her parents she had started to take up more sociable and "girly" activities. It could contribute to her mastermind plan of not having to go to France.

Cecelia smiled. "Great!" The two of them walked outside and met up with the other three girls who had been chatting quietly.

Star and Paulina frowned at the sight of the goth girl Valerie got a little nervous. "What are you doing here, Sam?" Paulina asked.

"Oh I invited her. That'll be cool, right?" Cecelia had learned how to talk to Paulina in such a way that wouldn't offend her. Paulina raised an eyebrow. "Earlier you said the more the merrier…"

"But miss dark and creepy is sure to rain on our parade." Paulina shrugged. "So it's your responsibility to make sure she doesn't do that." Sam growled. "Let's go, shopping girls!" Paulina said in her typically uppity voice. The walk began. Sam didn't know how long she could stand these people. Cecelia meant well and all but…there was just no way that Paulina and Sam could ever be friends.

At the mall, the first store Paulina spotted was Glamour Girls. She loved it. That store specialized in fancy dresses, which pleased her and the other cheerleaders greatly. They all looked around the store. The pink and red walls were lined aesthetically with rhinestones and mirrors and chic, ultra-modern pop art.

Cecelia had always wanted to wear a bright red dress but she didn't find a good one yet. Paulina spotted a pretty dress with sparkles at the top and three different shades of green. It poofed out right at the bottom of the waist, thereby complementing her curves. She found one in her size and then went to look for a pair of matching gloves. Star found herself a floor-length flowing blue dress she adored.

Valerie browsed through half the store before she found the right style of dress that would go with her body shape. It was orange and white. And she also found an orange flower comb for her hair that went with it well. Sam looked through all of the black dresses, but none of them were what she was looking for. She eventually just gave up altogether and went over to Cecelia to see what she found. Cecelia was browsing in the evening-dress section, but she hadn't found anything she liked yet. "Sam, where do you usually go to get a dress?"

"I don't usually buy dresses, but I do know a cool place." Cecelia nodded and followed Sam to a store that was only a few down. "Club Goth." Sam took Cecelia into the store. This wasn't Cecelia's idea of fashion. Everything was black and other dark colors. There was hard, rocky music playing that made Cecelia want to rip her ears out. Sam had her eyes immediately fixed on a short black dress with purple lace at the bottom and the sleeves were made of black netting. "$104.80." Sam said it as if she was glad it was that cheap. She noticed Cecelia just standing around. "Feel free to go and check something out."

"I don't know how to say this, but I'm not exactly into th…" Cecelia looked around and then she saw this dress—this one perfect dress—that was made of black silk and it had a cool thin red belt on it. Her face lit up like an otaku at an anime convention. "It's like totally perfect!"

Sam tried on her dress and it looked nice on her. Cecelia and Sam waited in line and then Sam paid for her dress with her credit card. The two of them made their way back to the other store where the other girls were just finishing up. Paulina stared at Valerie. "Now I know where I've seen that dress before? Star has the same one! She bought it three weeks ago! Isn't that great?" She mentioned as Star approached them and nodded.

"_Great_." Valerie remarked sarcastically. "Why couldn't you tell me that _before_ I bought it?"

"Because I just remembered, silly." Paulina said in her cheerful voice.

"Aren't you coming, Sam?" Cecelia asked as she and the other girls started their walk.

"No. I'd…rather walk home by myself, thanks." Sam said with a shrug.

"Like, whatever." Star said. "Come on, girls! I'm so happy now that we've all got our dresses. I can't wait to get all prettied up!"

"I'll say." Valerie said, still a little miffed. "What about you, Cecelia?"

Cecelia looked away. "It's going to be a surprise—what I wear to the dance." She commented mysteriously.

"Cool!" Paulina said.

"Oh come on, let me see!" Valerie asked, but Cecelia covered up the bag. Valerie gave Cecelia a peculiar stare and then turned back around.

Meanwhile the guys didn't have such an easy time in getting ready. The day of the dance was a hectic one for some. Over at Garth's house, the guy had regretted telling Vincello about his sorta-but-not-really-date with Sam. Vincello kept asking questions over the phone and eventually Garth just hung up on him in a huff. Garth had regretted saying yes to a girl he had no attraction to. What was he doing? He barely knew a thing about her! Also if his old crush, Angelina, ever found out somehow, he'd lose all chances he ever had with her in the first place…which was basically none.

Tucker had the easiest time of the guys in getting ready. His parents were very mild and understanding of him so they didn't give him any chores to get in the way of him getting ready on the night of the dance. Poor Danny on the other hand had to somehow manage to keep his parents in check for the evening, keep Jazz from sticking her nose into his relationship with Valerie, and keep Danielle out of his ear. Every couple of seconds or so it seemed, Danielle would carelessly phase through the walls from her bedroom to his.

"_Danielle_!" Danny whisper-yelled as he tried to continue in getting ready. If Danielle didn't have a question or comment about his outfit choice or the dance itself, it was his date. She wanted to know anything and everything about Valerie as well as the dates Danny's friends had. He was a bit fed up wondering if this would ever end.

To add even more, Jazz poked through into his room with another practical sermon on the wonders of psychology and how she didn't think Valerie was the right girl for Danny after all. Of course since Danielle got to hear Jazz's message, she added her own opinions in there too. Eventually with them arguing in the background of his room, he couldn't ignore their overlapping voices anymore nor could he even hear himself think.

"Guys! Would you quiet down? Tonight is supposed to be a very special night of my life and I can't enjoy it with you two hovering around me all the time!" He yelled. He took a deep breath as they silenced and then apologized for losing it. "Sorry I kind of flew off the handle there…"

"No, I shouldn't have come in without knocking." Jazz laughed nervously. "Bye! Have fun!" She said as she went back to her own room. Not too long afterwards, Danielle silently passed out through. Danny looked at himself in the mirror and honestly wondered to himself if he was really ready to handle this. He wondered how long he could keep denying facts about Valerie to himself…how long he could keep the truth at bay. He sighed and wondered if things would change on their own before he had a chance to figure any of it out for himself.


	24. Chapter 24

**Hey hope you all are having a great day! Finally I got my instagram. It's PrennCooder of course ;) It would really make my day if you guys could go follow me there! PM me if we're friends on here and you want me to follow you back :D Thanks!**

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**Chapter 24**

The game before the dance was certainly the thing to build up excitement and pressure among the students in the crowd. The cheerleaders did their thing like normal. Even Garth had come out to support Casper High. Little did he know that the rival team was from his old high school—the one he had dropped out of near the end of his tenth grade year. He panicked for a moment, fearing someone might remember him, but then he remembered his grade would be graduated by now. The only people who had even a sliver of a chance at recognizing him were the current seniors.

Even then, he only had a few friends in that grade back in the day—not many. Aria was never into sports so she probably hadn't come out for the game. Keru? He was probably sitting at home in that "groovy" trailer of his trying to make predictions on his "crystal ball". The only other person likely to be here was Evan Gianta, and that was because his sister was a cheerleader. Speaking of Tekairo, she could not get enough excitement out of the fact that she got to hang out with Cecelia here. The two of them sat together on the Casper High side of the bleachers and talked to each other the entire time pretty much.

Cecelia identified the one and only DCH player that she had remembered from her days there—the current senior, Caleb Foster. Tekairo laughed at that and the game carried on. Being friends on rival sides actually caused them not to care which side would win the game. Higher up in the bleachers was where Garth sat with Danny, Tucker, and Sam. Sam couldn't care less about the game. Tucker was on his PDA the whole time. So this left Danny to talk about Garth. As discreetly and quietly as possible, they discussed what to do about the Equator, Cecelia and Valerie.

The guys could not come to a viable and doable plan agreement. The security in that place was a "death trap" as Garth had worded it. Even as Danny Phantom, the teen would be able to get in but there was no way he would ever come out. And then there was the variable of the unknown explosion radius. If Danny launched several of his power blasts at the thing, it would surely explode, but it could also take him and part of the building with it.

They'd have to destroy it sometime when everybody is gone and also be sure to save whatever research was stored away in that area somehow. Garth never failed to remind Danny that the GIW were not _all_ bad and that some of their research projects could definitely be used to improve society. Needless to say, the plan they'd have to come up with would require a lot of work and careful decision-making. It'd have to be timed perfectly. There was no room for rash decisions or careless mistakes.

"The crowd is going wild. Who will be the winner? Will it be the Casper High Eagles or the Downtown City Chargers?" A brown-eyed announcer man said from his booth.

It was two in the afternoon. Around the football field, Valerie, Cecelia, Paulina and the other cheerleaders gathered at the bleachers and prepared for a routine. Tekairo headed back to her own cheer squad. All of the movement and excitement got the crowd pumped. Based on the noise reception, the cheerleaders had done their job. The girls were tired after that. They were also anxious to get into their dresses and some of them went into the bathrooms to start fixing their hair. Among those who did not go were Cecelia and Valerie.

"You should go straighten your hair, Valerie." Cecelia suggested. "Let someone do it for you."

Valerie shook her head. "Nah. Look at my hair! It's a mess! I wouldn't even know where to begin, much less would someone else!"

"I will do it." Cecelia said as she pulled Valerie up. "Your hair always looks the same and I think a different hairstyle would be good for you. I'm sure Danny would love it." Valerie heaved a sigh. She kind of wanted to see what it would look like completely straight anyway. They headed inside. Cecelia easily found a straightener and some hair protection product to glob onto Valerie's thick waves. Cecelia had to crank up the temperature to do Valerie's hair just right. It took around forty minutes to do the job. Then Cecelia clipped the big orange feather flower into Valerie's hair. Cecelia handed Valerie a mirror. "All done!"

"Wow." Valerie smiled at her long, straight, shiny hair. "I look snappy." She turned back to Cecelia. "This is pretty good for your first time straightening hair. It's a little bit singed though, at the ends. And _your_ hair…"

"Ohhh, no you're not." It was as if Cecelia could read Valerie's mind.

"Ohhh yes I am. You're getting waves from your ears down to your waist."

It was Cecelia's turn to pull up a chair while Valerie used a curling iron to put some stylish wave into Cecelia's hair. This only took about fifteen minutes. And then Valerie put on her dress and started to apply her makeup. Cecelia stared at her reflection. She had never seen her hair with more than just the one curl it had on its ends. "Not bad." She said to herself. She noticed a fully-dressed Paulina standing next to her.

"Now's probably the time you want to get dressed, duh." Paulina was dressed from head to toes in the debutant style with lovely eye shadow and mascara and lipstick and the works. She even had matching green high heels, though they didn't show because her dress was so long that it touched the ground. Paulina walked out to show off her pampered and attractive self.

Cecelia looked down at her red and white cheerleading outfit. The sweat stains were semi-obvious and her makeup made her look like her face was melting. But all it needed was a quick touch-up. "Ewww. Yeesh. I _do_ have to change." She quickly jotted down to her locker to get her outfit and then jotted back to the bathroom to take a stall.

A few minutes later, Cecelia stepped out wearing that cute black dress she adored. The belt complimented it great and matched her bright red lipstick. Her heavy mascara really made her eyes pop. "Shall we go see if our dates are here?" Cecelia held the door open so that she and her friend could exit the bathroom.

"We should probably go find Sam first." Valerie said. "I didn't see her come in here so she must have come already changed. Then we should wait outside the gymnasium for the guys. I know it's tacky that our school didn't rent a hall or something, but try to pretend it's not the gym for one night, okay?" Cecelia laughed. She and Valerie peeked at the game from outside the windows as they went around looking for Sam. "Just so you know, we always lose. Year after year, failure after failure. It's boring, really." Valerie mentioned hopelessly. "Your former school has definitely got game, and we really don't."

"Well, yeah, with that attitude you're not going to win anything." Cecelia looked up at the scoreboard. The Chargers were creaming the Casper High Eagles five to nothing. The two girls noticed Kwan make a pass to Dash from across the field.

"Will he catch it? _Will he catch it_?" The announcer asked the crowd. "Oh, no! Dash Baxter has _dropped the ball_ and it's back in the hands of the Chargers!"

Cecelia and Valerie found themselves cheering for their team, as cheerleaders often did out of habit. "Hey wait a minute. We're cheerleaders. I feel like we should be out there while we're waiting for the rest of the group. Maybe they're in the stands." Cecelia said. "With the weird way we all seem to know each other, I wouldn't be surprised if the four of them are already out there. Maybe we've been searching the wrong place."

"I'm not going out like this! There's mud now because it's starting to sprinkle! And besides, we were dismissed to go get ready." Valerie crossed her arms.

"Oh come on! Have a little fun, won't cha?" Cecelia yelled back as she opened the door. She went outside to the first row of bleachers and cheered her head off. When Valerie saw her friend standing out there, she was proud in a weird way. Deep down, Valerie was too afraid of what people would think of her to go out and do something like that. Normally, Valerie was fearless, but even she had a fear of rejection just like everybody else. She made up her mind not to go out. And then came the rain.

Cecelia and all the other sports fans got doused with rainwater, but it didn't seem like they cared. Cecelia didn't even notice. Her hair lost its curl and her makeup was washed away and she brushed the last of it onto her forearm. She let the natural water wash it off. "With eight seconds left on the clock, is it possible for Dash Baxter to run all the way across the field? Three…two…_touchdown_! Dash is our hero! With that, the Casper High Eagles take the cake with a final score of seven to five!" The announcer raved with excitement. The band was supposed to play some kind of interlude here but with the sudden heavy showers, they packed up to get out as fast as possible.

"Wohoo!" Cecelia cheered for her team. She went back inside to wear Valerie had been standing the whole time.

Cecelia smiled. "You're a crazy one, aren't you?" Valerie gave Cecelia a fist pound.

"Yup, something like that. I guess I'm more of a radical than you." Cecelia mentioned as she wrung her hair. She was drenched head to toe. Her little black shoes were covered with mud. "Let's go find our dates." She and Valerie spotted Danny, Tucker, Sam, and Garth all entering the building over at the front along with the rest of the crowd.

Cecelia took a good look at them all. Tucker's suit was a dark green and his black shoes were polished too well—they had probably never been used before. Danny's was a deep blue. Garth's was a darker, more navy blue and it looked like it was a little small on him, so it probably belonged to Danny or Tucker. Sam was wearing that cute gothic dress she had found with the lace and the netting. She even had her hair up in pigtails and she was wearing purple eyeshadow.

Cecelia looked at her date, Tucker, who seemed a little queasy. "You're not an all-out hot cheerleader Barbie doll, are you?" Tucker remarked in a joking way. He didn't think Cecelia was so attractive anymore, not with all the mud. The longer he was around her, the more he started to file her away into the "definitely platonic" category in his brain's file cabinet.

"Oh I am, just in a different way. Not the way you might think." Cecelia said with a smile.

Danny and Valerie joined hands. "Hi." They said in unison, and then laughed about it.

"Let's go dance." Valerie suggested. "I have been waiting for this."

"Okay." Danny and Valerie were the first of their group.

"So…what do you want to do?" Sam turned to Garth then with an awkward smile. "Do you like dancing?" She asked in her nervous voice.

This was really weird since Garth didn't know her very well. He looked all around. His only memory of anything related to dance were those two Sadie Hawkins Dances he went to in high school. Were there even two, or was it just one? It was all foggy—he didn't remember. He just knew the last time he had ever danced was with Angelina and it was one of the most special moments in his life. "I dunno, I'm a horrible dancer." He finally answered with an indifferent shrug. "How about you?"

Sam laughed. "I'm not all that crazy about it either. So don't worry—it's cool. We can just talk if you want." This might have been the first time Cecelia and Garth had seen Sam release a genuinely happy emotion. "Just follow me." Sam pulled her "date" along into the hallway.

That left Cecelia and Tucker. Alone. Neither expected this, nor did they want it. "I'm not exactly what you expected, am I?" Cecelia asked the nerdy boy. Tucker shook his head. "Do you want to call off the date?" She asked with a light laugh. Tucker nodded happily. Cecelia was relieved that Tucker only liked her as a friend, since that was the way she felt about him too. "Okay then." The two of them walked into the gymnasium. "You go…hit up some of those single ladies. Yeah, go get 'em, tiger! If you tell them you just dumped a cheerleader, I bet you'll get a lineup." She said with a wink. Tucker ran off into the crowd, excited and eager to see who was out there and desperate.

All the girls looked lovely and their men looked so handsome. Paulina was dancing with Dash. Star was dancing with Kwan. Valerie and Danny were…sort of dancing. Well Danny was a bit stiff but Valerie didn't care. Even Tucker started having fun. Sam and Garth entered the room for a bit. Garth stood at the sidelines and watched as Sam took one and only one dance with Tucker. Then the two of them must have slipped out again. There were so many people here that it was easy to lose track of who was where. This was obviously the happening place as mist of the school seemed to have come out. The only students who had stayed home were people like Danny's older sister who preferred studying over partying.

Leisurely, Cecelia took a glass of purple raspberry punch and glanced around the gymnasium at all the decorations. There was even a banner and everything. The banner looked like it was made in the eighties—typical tacky Casper. Cecelia knew she had wound up dateless again but maybe that was for the best. If she really wanted to cut in, she could probably ask Dash or Kwan to dance one song with her later.

The punch made Cecelia's stomach tremble and eventually she found herself having to make an inconvenient trip to the bathroom as some ingredient in there did not sit well with her. When she came out and headed back down the hallway, a brief look out the window caused her to come to an automatic stop. Something whooshed overhead, blocking the moon temporarily. Cecelia looked up and gasped at what she saw.

A fierce ghost dragon held Sam captive. And she was screaming. Cecelia could hear that sound despite it coming from outside. But the music was so loud in the gym that probably no one there could hear it. Normally Cecelia would have run there to get Valerie, but, if she did that, Sam might not have a chance. Cecelia had to take action now! She headed for the nearest exit, not knowing what she would do when she got out there but figured a plan would come to her in the moment.

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	25. Chapter 25

**Soooo I'm out for the summer now... O_O Depressing, but hey, I'm going to make the best of it. It's a beautiful day out there where I am :) anyways, enjoy another chapter!**

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**Chapter 25**

The paneling on the roof was starting to rot and turn green at the bottom. The true night was beginning to settle in. With all the lights off, the place began to look really scary. Stepping outside into the pouring rain, Cecelia's eyebrows narrowed as she glared at the ghost dragon who held Sam.

Cecelia reached for her device to activate her suit but then remembered she didn't have it—the suit was broken ever since those stupid ghost vultures pecked it to death. Now Cecelia froze; she didn't know what to do. As if by luck, the ghost and Sam landed on top of the school building. Cecelia shook her head in disgust at the ghost. "Hang on, Sam, I'll save you." Cecelia determined.

During her mad rush up the stairs, she realized she didn't have anything to fight the dragon with. She'd have to kick some butt the old-fashioned way: hand to hand combat. It was going to be a test of her martial arts skills. Cecelia climbed up a ladder to the attic and then opened a wooden hatch which led to the roof.

Over by the very edge was the dragon holding Sam. "Oh no! He's going to push her off!" Cecelia said to herself. She ran up to the dragon in a vivacious charge. "Let my friend go!" She punched the dragon and kicked him as hard as he could.

The dragon became airborne and set Sam down gently and then made his timely disappearance. "What did you just do?" Sam asked in a confused tone of voice. "Cecelia, where did you come from?"

"I saved your life from being wasted by that dragon!" Cecelia said, panting. "No need to thank me. I happened to be in the hallway a few minutes ago and through the window I saw him flying around with you. Sam was still puzzled. "I heard you screaming as he pulled you along through the air. And then I saw him almost drop you over the edge here. If I hadn't stopped him, you would have been a gonner. But you're safe now, okay?"

Sam caught on pretty quickly. "R-riiight, thank you." She walked past Cecelia and went back down into the school.

"Hmm." Cecelia said to herself "Something's not right. If that were me, I'd be a little more shaken up still." Cecelia looked under the hatch that she came from. "And how did she know the way down?" She asked herself. Just then, a shadow fell over Cecelia from the back. Her heart began to pound before she was even aware of it. She turned around and there was the dragon floating there with his arms crossed and he was glaring at her. Ready to make his revenge? His comeback? Ready to kill her, possibly? He snorted and smoke came out of his nostrils. Cecelia was terrified. "What do you want?" The girl assumed a defensive pose and stared at him bravely. Though, it wouldn't do much good as she was powerless and he could crush her like a fly within seconds. He could also roast her like a marshmallow, but she tried not to think of that.

"What do _you_ want?" The dragon questioned back with a booming voice, but a rather mild attitude. "Why did you come up here and charge at me? I did nothing to you for you to cause me such pain. Don't you see anything wrong in attacking those who have done nothing bad?"

"I want you to go away and leave my friends alone! Why do you ghosts haunt this town anyways? Do you really have nothing better to do than to make the human world miserable?" Cecelia's adrenaline was staring to fade and she began to see the full foolishness of what she was doing. "That girl you tried to waste back there was my friend!"

The dragon chuckled. "Wow, have you ever got it backwards! Not that you'd believe me, but I'll try anyways. I don't _haunt_, I hunt. And what would you do if I said she was my friend too? Huh? What would you think?"

"A ghost who hunts human. That doesn't make much sense, now does it?" Cecelia glowered at the ghost. "Quit playing games with me, or I'll defeat you right here and now." She hoped and prayed that he couldn't tell she was bluffing.

The dragon relaxed and gave her a cocky smile. "It seems to me that you have nothing to fight with except your bare hands and feet. I'll remind you that I have fire, a tail, and I'm eight times bigger than you." Cecelia sneered at him. "Anyways, I didn't come back to fight you. I'm here to tell you that I'm not the bad guy. I hunt ghosts—not humans—just like you do and I'm part of a team. I'm the good guy. And I think we could be on the same side if you'd just keep your mind open and try to work against your ghost prejudice. Not all ghosts are evil, don't you know?"

Cecelia stepped back. "…What?" She choked out. "You mean to say that you and a whole bunch of other ghosts…hunt ghosts?"

"Ever heard of _Danny Phantom_?" He asked.

Where did she hear that exact wording before? "Oh, too many times…he's all over the place, even if I don't see him. This whole town is obsessed with him. He's everywhere."

"Well, I'm like him. I'm a good guy. _And_ I'm a ghost. Yeah, it's definitely possible to be both. I'm even friends with him some humans, like Sam."

"Sam?" Cecelia questioned. "You know her name?"

"Yes." He answered. "I said she was my friend. Weren't you listening?"

"Why would Sam ever want to hang out with a monster like you when she can be downstairs at the dance having a nice time with her friends Garth, Danny, Tucker and Valerie? How am I supposed to believe that?"

"Speaking of it, shouldn't you be down there too?"

Cecelia looked down guiltily. "Yeah." She admitted. She realized she had let down her defense pose, and she took her eyes off the dragon. He could have destroyed her many times over if he had wanted to, and she finally realized it. Something was different about him that wasn't like the other ghosts she had encountered. He might be defensive, unyielding, and kind of cold, but he was not…evil. "You really _aren't_ a bad guy, are you?"

The dragon shook his head. "I'm trying to rid the world of bad guys just like you are." He sighed. "You need to learn that everybody deserves a chance. Somehow I imagine one day you and I will be on the same side."

"How did you know that I…?"

He realized she had him there if he didn't keep his speech steady. Oh well, she was easy to fool. "I just know." He replied coolly. He then turned to leave and went intangible so that Cecelia would not know the exact location where he flew off too.

Sam went back outside on the ground level now, bewildered at all the things she had just seen. "Sam?" She jumped at the sound of the voice. She turned around and there was the brown dragon—Garth. He easily shifted back into human form. "I'm sorry things got out of hand back there…but how was she supposed to know I was just giving you a ride? I didn't tell her my secret yet—I don't think she's ready."

"Don't worry; I think one day she'll be." Sam said as Garth nodded slightly and turned to leave. "So are you going now?"

"Yeah, yeah." He said casually. "I'm like you; I don't really belong here at these kinds of things…sorry." Sam just shrugged. Garth shaped up his scruffy brown hair and walked back on the sidewalk that eventually would lead to his car that he could drive back to his small, dark house. All his life, practically, Garth's main goal was to be alone and do whatever he wanted to do. But now that he finally had the chance to be alone, he was far too involved in his friends' lives to stop. He would never admit it, but he _did_ care.

Garth started to do a bit of cleaning and organizing around the place to get his mind off of what had been going on and still was. At least Danny was in the process of devising a plan now. Garth used to be able to just turn off his emotions and feelings like a switch. That all just wasn't possible anymore now that his conscience had woken up after years of sleeping.

Back at Casper High, Sam had headed back into the gym soaking wet. She didn't say anything to Cecelia as she passed her. Both of them headed over to where Tucker, Valerie, and Danny were. "Look at her, all wet…and she hasn't danced with anyone all night." Valerie whispered to Danny. "She probably ran out embarrassed or something. But look, Sam's wet too. Cecelia could get any guy to dance with her. I don't get why…" When Cecelia and Sam were within hearing range, Valerie stopped. She and the guys had been sitting down at a table as they were tired of dancing and the slow music going on right now would have just about put them to sleep. Valerie lightly elbowed Danny. "Please? What we talked about earlier? It's fine with me, really."

Danny got up just as the two girls sat down. He went over to Cecelia. "Hey, Valerie told me you haven't danced with anyone all night. I'm not going to bother asking why you two are wet. But I would like to know something else…if you would dance with me?"

Cecelia double-blinked. "But Valerie—" She looked over and Valerie gave her a smile and a thumbs up. When Cecelia saw that it was okay, she accepted, and Danny pulled her onto the dance floor. She expected this to be awkward but it wasn't at all. When he smiled, she smiled back without realizing it. It was so nice of them to do this for her, even though she barely knew him. As they danced, they only looked at each other as they tried hard not to mess up. They felt like they had known each other a long while. Everything else seemed blurry around them though it was only their imagination.

Cecelia expected Valerie and Sam both to be jealous right now despite having composed themselves. But in actuality Cecelia was the jealous one for a moment, because Valerie and Sam had both been with him and got to have experiences like this often. Cecelia pretended she was his girl for a moment, and then buried that thought deep. She'd never share it with anyone as long as she lived. She smiled still as their dance concluded.

They let go of each other and went to sit back down with the rest of the group. Cecelia's heart had softened that night, without her realizing it. From here on out, it would just be small talk for the rest of the night. "Where is Garth?" Tucker asked.

"Oh he went home." Sam answered. "Said he had some things to take care of."

"That's too bad." Tucker replied. "He missed all of the fun dances at the beginning. Now all that's left are the slow songs." He got up and went over to the buffet to raid it and came back with two platefuls of food. He figured why not take advantage of it all while it was there? He could resist the urge no longer. The group could always count on Tucker to belch and overeat, Cecelia to talk about preppy girl stuff, or Danny to laugh and talk about his favorite band Dumpty Humpty and astronaut things. Of course Tucker joined in with his talk about video games and technology too. Tucker noticed his friends were all partied out, so he figured he'd lighten the mood with a line or too. "So last night I heard this really funny joke." Tucker started with a big grin. "How does a cow sneak off a farm? Right pasteurize. HAHAHAHAAA!" At least he got a laugh out of them.

Much later that night, long after the dance was over, Danny couldn't sleep because many things were bugging him. He figured his brain wouldn't shut off till he at least had some resolve on the problems. So he got up, flipped on the light switch, pulled out some paper, and started sketching out full-on blueprints and diagrams of "the plan". It was still in the rough stages, and Danny had already made several drafts and changes but by around two in the morning he finally had come up with a general idea of what they were going to do and how they were going to destroy the equator.

It would take the efforts of their entire team. Garth would get a blueprint of the place as well as security codes. Tucker could hack in and disable any security as needed. Jazz could help with that. Sam would be their general security, meaning, she'd be in charge of keeping anyone else from figuring out what was going on. Then when the time was right, Danny and Dani Phantom—maybe Garth in dragon form too, if needed—would phase in and lift the Equator out, then carry it to some wide-open place and fire all of their powers at it until it was just a pile of ash.

Danny smiled, proud of himself and all of his potentially illegible sketches. Satisfied then, he headed back to bed. In his dream, all of his friends were happy as he hung out with them…he wanted to keep things that way. He wondered if he had been overthinking things a bit and if there was a simpler way to please everybody that he just wasn't seeing.

At the dance, Danny got to see Cecelia's softer and more vulnerable side and he had accepted her as a friend even though they barely talked. He wondered how a girl like her could get so upset over something like ghosts, despite the history Valerie had mentioned regarding Cecelia's mother being killed by a ghost. In his dream, Danny innocently thought it would be easy to incorporate Cecelia and Valerie into their team. Having looked into their eyes, he saw good in them, and believed they were just misguided. He believed he could trust them. When the right time came, he'd tell them both the truth.


	26. Chapter 26

**Wow so last night I was up till 4 in the morning and actually write the ending of this story; its final three chapters. Now I just gotta finish all the ones in between XD Which means, I've only got six more to do! I wonder if somehow I could finish it all today? We'll see! **

**Don't forget to review/fave/follow if you enjoy my story :3 **

**Also Phantoms will be updated shortly! Still open for DP OCs there! Thank you very much :D **

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**Chapter 26**

It was Tuesday and Tucker was on his way to work. Walking somehow got him all pumped up for his job at the Nasty Burger. He put on the apron and took over his shift like always. Then he prepared to get himself into the zone. Tucker's shift was almost over when a thin guy with peculiarly cut blond hair and dark bags under his eyes stood at the counter waiting for his order. Tucker sensed something was wrong with this person. "Here you go…mister..." Tucker handed the strange boy the food that he had ordered.

"Wenn." Not like it matters." He replied in an irritated huff. The boy turned to walk away, but then turned back again. "You know Danny Phantom…" He started quietly.

"W-w-what?" Tucker stuttered out. "What are you talking about?" He had hoped no one else in the restaurant could hear. But luckily, none of them even seemed to notice this boy at all. Tucker felt like he was staring at a ghost, though this kid looked more like a vampire. He was wearing fake fangs, after all!

"You do! I know it! I don't know how yet, but you're a friend of his. You're friends with a ghost!" Wenn accused suddenly, out of nowhere. "You and that bitter goth witch."

"I don't know what you're talking about!" Now Tucker was really frightened. If this escalated further, he might have to make a run for it. His boss could have his head over running out when it was still his shift, though people were starting to stare at blondie's loud words.

"I can read minds." Wenn said quietly under his breath. "Not that some bumbling fool like you would know what all that means…I just know because you had a stray thought about your friend the phantom and…I knew you were connected to him somehow. Everyone in this freaky little district seems to know his name, that…Saint Phantom."

Tucker pulled the blond kid aside behind a pop machine as he stepped around the counter. "What do you want?" Tucker whispered seriously. He just wanted this punk to get to the point already, but then again Tucker was afraid of what that might be.

"Well…I'd…I'd just like you to thank him for not getting in my way." The blond replied arrogantly. "I'd have to admit I was a little irritated about the stories I've heard about him putting a stopper on the valiant works of people such as myself. But he hasn't come anywhere near me so I'm off the hook. I don't blame him for being scared stiff, the poor coward. I mean, who wouldn't, looking at these?" He pointed to his fangs, which Tucker looking at more closely could tell were real. "NO I'M NOT A BLASTED VAMPIRE! Idiot!"

"Why are you telling me all of this?" Tucker replied, backing away slowly.

The boy got mad. "Because I want to fight him, okay! He might be a coward but he can't hide from me forever."

"Danny Phantom's NOT a coward!" Tucker argued, but Wenn ignored him.

"I want to see his famed so-called power for myself. I want to see if he really is great or if he's just some fool like yourself. You tell him to meet me somewhere tomorrow and I'll show him that he's not the only tough guy around here." The boy stared hard at Tucker. "Axion labs? At noon? Great choice." The blond boy smiled, proud of his skill. Tucker frowned, scared of it.

"Oh poo!" Tucker realized that the blond boy had just read his thoughts, and Tucker had recently been thinking about tomorrow's field trip to Axion labs. "What if I don't tell him?" Tucker said with a jolt of slight bravery.

Wenn frowned gravely. "Oh but you will tell him. You _will_. I can see the future too." He chuckled evilly and then walked out of the restaurant.

Tucker didn't know what to do. He was glad deciding how to take care of the situation was Danny's job. The walk home had given Tucker some time to think it all over though he shuddered every time his mind imagined the face

It was late Tuesday evening and Danny was online playing some video game and he saw that Tucker and Sam had both gotten online recently. A chat window appeared and it was Tucker. "Hiya, buddies!"

Shortly after, Sam joined. "You're sure in a happy mood."

"That's because I've figured the whole thing out!"

"What whole thing?" Danny and Sam typed in at the same time.

"How we can get Cecelia and Valerie on our side!" Tucker looked at his friends and waited for their reaction but they didn't give one. "They're both going to Dash's party, right?"

"It's Dash. _Everyone's_ going to be there." Danny said. "Even people he hates, like us. I still can't believe we got invited….but it's probably only because he sees Danny Phantom hanging around you two so much."

"Yeah, everyone would like it if Danny Phantom made a special appearance, right?" Tucker hinted. "So you just show up and party and everybody—including Valerie and Cecelia—would see that you're just an ordinary teenager too. They can get to know you there in a positive environment surrounded by hundreds of other teens! And if they still aren't convinced, you can pull them aside and explain everything."

"That's a good thought. I'll keep it in mind. Are you sure it'll work?" Danny asked. "I'm still a bit skeptical, but perhaps that might be…the right time. It gives me a chance to prepare it, and oh well, we'll see. I'll think about it."

"I'm not done yet." Tucker was really proud of his little revelation. "I'm just full of good news today, aren't I? Wednesday is the field trip to Axion labs. If a bad guy attacks, I'm sure Danny Phantom will show up and save everybody in the building and then they'll all be grateful to him. They'll see that you're only trying to help. It's not like Cecelia and Valerie can just deny the evidence with the hundreds of witnesses that will be there."

"How do we know there will be an attack at just the right moment?" Sam inquired skeptically.

Tucker laughed nervously. "Well, uh, I have something _else_ to tell you. There was a blond kid that came into Nasty Burger today and he was psychic. He knew I knew Danny Phantom and requested a fight. The freak could read my mind! Through all the insults he hurled at us, I was able to retain that his name was Wenn. Sam, he knew about you too, though the words he used to describe you…I-I won't repeat."

"I don't want to just fight some random ghost without knowing what his true goal is as well as a bit more about his power. He seems different from the others somehow."

"Relax, Danny, he's a human." Tucker said with certainty. "I…I think. Well, as a matter of fact, he did have odd green eyes and fangs, but these fangs were real! I swear! I almost wound up working at a Halloween store so I know what fake fangs look like. But his eyes, I'm not so sure about. The lighting in the Nasty Burger was a bit off but it still almost looked like he had contacts on."

Danny sighed. "Allright, we'll see what happens. I'm probably not going to have a choice of he shows up out of nowhere. If he really can read minds, then he might discover my secret and I can't let him go blabbing. We're going to have to stop him somehow. If I win, this Wenn will go behind bars and I'll be the hero. Valerie and Cecelia won't hate me anymore because they'll see my efforts to protect the student body were not in vain. And then what?"

"They can help us destroy the Equator before it destroys you." Tucker theorized. "Just putting that out there."

There was a short pause of silence. "Ya know, it just might work." Danny said hopefully. "Let's give it a try. It's worth it. Thanks for drawing this to my attention, Tucker. Whatever this Wenn guy said about you, I know it wasn't true. I just know it." Tucker smiled on the other end of the chat box as he wished his friends goodnight. He had only gotten online to chat with them after all. He just hoped Danny could take down this creep despite the nature of his powers being a complete and total mystery.

It was eight-thirty on the morning of the next day. The kids of Casper High loaded up on the busses for a field trip to Axion Labs. The busses were supposed to sit only two per seat but somehow they jam-packed three to a seat. The whole system was based on assigned seating. Danny stood in line behind Sam and Tucker as they waited to get on the bus.

"Mr. Foley, you're sitting right over there with Kwan and Star." Mr. Lancer assigned Tucker. Tucker looked over there where Kwan and Star were making out. The techno geek only groaned in disappointment and took his seat. He hated this new assigned seats thing. "Ms. Manson, you are with Valerie and Paulina." Mr. Lancer told Sam.

"Figures." Sam said with an irritated grumble. She took her seat and it was obvious Paulina didn't want her there. And Valerie and Sam weren't exactly friends either.

"Mr. Fenton, you're with Dash over there." Lancer pointed.

"Oh no." Danny complained as he walked nearer to his seat. "Of course…" He tried to sit as far away from Dash as possible.

"What do ya know? It's o'l' Fentonio and I haven't wailed on him in a week!" Dash put his fists together and grinned menacingly at Danny. Danny closed his eyes and braced himself for a hit. This was sure going to hurt and there was not anyone around who would put a stop to it.

Danny waited, but no hit came. The only sound to be heard over a bunch of students yelling around was a friendly voice. "Hi guys."

Danny opened his eyes and saw Cecelia standing there. She sat down between Danny and Dash.

"Oh hello, Cecelia." Dash was disappointed that she sat there because he couldn't beat up Danny with a girl in between them.

"So are you excited about the trip?" Cecelia asked the guys, cluelessly unaware of their rivalry with each other.

"Yeah, sure." Dash replied fakely. "I love getting up at six thirty in the morning only to walk around and listen to some old geezer preach about science junk and whatnot." That tone was almost sarcastic. Almost.

"Well I've definitely got some strong emotions regarding today, that's for sure." Danny commented.

"Oh what does a geek like you know about this place anyway, Fenton?" Dash barked. Then, remembering Cecelia was there, he avoided making eye contact with her. He didn't want his friend to see the way he treated Danny.

"I know Valerie's dad works there." Danny said quietly.

"I've met him. And I've been here a few times too. It's a really cool place." Cecelia was not good at small talk and she hoped she was not boring them too much. "My dad works here also. It'll be great for you all to see his place of work. He enjoys his job, and is proud of what he does. I've never been good at science and math like him so all the more I revere his noble efforts."

"What?" Dash asked, blinking. She used too many big words in that sentence that he didn't understand. And she realized finally there was someone at this school who was dumber than she was, and she found it amusing though she didn't speak of it.

"I hear there's a lot of ghost attacks at the lab." Danny said. "How's that?"

Cecelia started to say something but Dash cut her off before she could get a word out. "Yeah, duh, Fenton. But thankfully that ghost kid Danny Phantom has been protecting Amity Park forever. I'll bet you wish you were a hero like him instead of the dweeb that you are, Fenton." Dash punched Danny lightly in the arm.

"Ow!" Danny said, thinking sarcastically to himself, _thanks Dash, I can always count on you_.

"Oh I think Danny Phantom's a fake. He's only about publicity and you know the way he's "always there" to stop a disaster, well I think it's all one big setup, if you ask me. He's just a ghost and nothing good ever comes from them."

"How can you say that? Danny Phantom's my hero!" Dash argued. "What you're saying is definitely not true! It couldn't be! And if you want to hear another opinion, go talk to our friend Paulina. She'll give you all the deets."

Danny was glad he didn't have to argue with Cecelia because Dash was doing a pretty good job of it himself. "I'm going to have to agree with Dash on this one." Danny finally said. "Maybe you should give him a chance, Cecelia. You might be surprised."

She looked away. "I still don't trust him."

"It's just as easy as trusting Valerie, or me. You trust me, right?" Danny looked at her. Her big purple eyes stared back into him. It was kind of calming, actually. He knew she rarely made direct eye contact with him. Somehow when their eyes met, they both felt this peaceful, reassuring kind of feeling. Calming thoughts flooded over them both though they were unaware of the effect they had on each other.

"Yeah, sure." Cecelia started slowly, not wanting to break eye contact now. "You're good to Valerie and that's all I need to know. It's obvious you're a good person, even though I don't know you very well."

Danny smiled. "See? I can tell you that personally, Danny Phantom is a very good person. If you trust Valerie's word that I'm good, can't you trust my word that he's good?" Dash scratched his head at this, as he was completely lost.

"But that's just it." Cecelia's expression changed. "He's not a person—he's a ghost. And it was a ghost that killed my mother."

"Oh I'm sorry." Dash said with as much compassion as he could produce. "That's terrible. I don't know where I'd be without my mom. But it looks like you turned out fine."

"I'm all right now. But I'll never trust a ghost." Cecelia determined. "My father's filled my head with stories of their merciless rampaging attacks. But I guess you guys would never really understand because it hasn't happened to you. Oh well, it's different for me."

"Yeah, yeah, I see your point." Dash admitted curiously. Having nothing left to say, he began talking to some of his jock friends in the seat behind him. Danny spotted Sam and Tucker and waved to them. Then Danny spotted Valerie and blew a kiss to her. After that, Danny looked over at Cecelia, who was next to him. She looked very bored. He knew that Casper High was a half-hour bus ride away from Axion labs. Somehow he believed their little chat wasn't over just yet. For once he had time to talk to her when she was away from Valerie.

Danny started asking questions about her life and hobbies just to get to know her. She began to tell him about her freshman year of high school at DCH and all of her friends there. Then somehow he steered the conversation to the topic of ghosts again. "Danny Phantom didn't kill your mother." Danny said to Cecelia in a soft tone. He finally said to her but his voice was not demeaning. It was rather gentle and soft actually.

Cecelia didn't say anything back and she didn't have to. Deep down she knew she had been transferring a lot of her bitter feelings onto Danny Phantom since he was the one ghost that kept coming back into her life. Even if she never spoke his name again, the world would not let her forget him. But why?

Cecelia looked down and closed her eyes and tried to make sense of all this. What if Fenton was right? If all this time Danny Phantom had been doing only good for the town, then Cecelia owed him a big apology. A hero was just what this danger-prone town needed and Cecelia thought she was doing the right thing by stopping him. One thing's for sure—she'd be paying very close attention to the next time he showed up in his life. She had to use every cell of brainpower to decipher what in the world his real motives were. And later today, she just might get the chance to do so.


	27. Chapter 27

**I'm sure you will all be happy to know that I finished the book yesterday ;) ended up being 92k as a whole. The two novels that follow it are: The Importance of Being Danny Phantom (I know its a mouthful) and Fate of the World. They will be considerably shorter than this book and I'd be surprised if either of them got too much longer than 60k. **

**I still can't believe that said three novels were originally one novel, and also that the original word count estimate for Anonymous Trackers before I started writing was 10k O_O I thought I was lucky to get it to even a short story level but noooo, the ideas are infinite, and therefore could go on forever. I am, and we all are, truly blessed to have Danny Phantom :D have a great day!**

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**Chapter 27**

The bus arrived at Axion labs right as Danny had guessed it would. He had been there all too many times and knew the general distance from Casper to it. Like all of the other students, he got off the bus. The first thing he did was find Sam and Tucker. Danny saw Valerie run to her father and she'd be hanging out with him during the field trip. Danny didn't want to feel like he was intruding, so he let them be. He wondered if Cecelia would locate her father as well, but it appeared she chose to stick with her besties Paulina and Star.

"Welcome to Axion labs." Damon Gray said once all the students were out of the busses. "I'll be your tour guide today. And just to make it clear, I'm Valerie's father." Valerie gave her father an embarrassed look, almost as if that was a detail she had intentionally told him to leave out. He just ignored her. "You kids can all call me Mr. Gray." Damon unlocked the doors to the lab. He went on pointing out various items and giving short blurbs about them as the large group moved throughout the building.

Axion labs was more high-tech then Danny remembered. Perhaps they had made some adjustments since he had been here last. If that was true, they had done it scary fast. Sam and Tucker stayed close to Danny because they were waiting for that creepy blond kid to show up out of nowhere. He'd probably appear when they least expected it. "Hi guys." Valerie smiled as she approached Danny and his friends.

"Hi Valerie." Sam and Tucker droned.

"Hey Val." Danny gave her a hug.

"My dad's embarrassing me, so I'd rather stay with you guys." Valerie said. She and Danny held hands now as they walked through the large open metal world of Axion labs. "No offense, Tucker and Sam, but you guys are kind of nobodies and that's perfect because the last thing I want to do right now is stick out." Sam had her arms crossed and Tucker could tell she was mad, but he knew Valerie didn't mean her statement to be as condescending as it came out.

Time passed as the group calmly looked around and tried their best to understand the lab. The scientists had opened up this place for tour in the hopes of tens gaining an interest and applying for jobs here. For most of the jobs at this place, there was no degree or previous experience necessary. "It's time for lunch break. If you'll follow me to the cafeteria, I'll show you the salad bar and the meat buffet that I had specially catered for teens." Mr. Gray said. All the teens cheered. "We always break a few minutes before noon." Mr. Gray told them as they all entered the cafeteria.

"Noon?!" Tucker walked up to Danny and yanked him away from Valerie. "Noon is when that creepy Wenn guy will be coming." Tucker whispered into Danny's ear. "I forgot to tell you that yesterday. Sorry! Details!"

"Calm down, Tucker. Just be careful. Keep a smart watch. When he comes, I'll take care of him." Danny assured his friend in a returning whisper.

Danny and Tucker caught up to Valerie in the meat buffet line while Sam went through the salad bar line. The four of them sat down at an empty table. Cecelia eventually joined them, but she brought along Paulina and Star along with her. "Hey Valerie, you look nice today." Paulina complemented.

"Thanks." Valerie replied. She looked at what she was wearing and it wasn't anything different from what she'd always worn. Reluctantly, Dash and Kwan came over to this table as well. As much as they hated sitting with these losers, they wanted to sit with their friends too. All was quiet, until all of a sudden, there were scattered screams from around the large cafeteria.

Danny looked up and he saw to his dismay that there was a pair of green vulture ghosts floating high above. "We've been sent by our master to battle the ghost boy. So where is he?" One of the vultures asked the crowd. "Where is the one called Danny Phantom? Or is he too much of a coward to show himself?"

"Hey, you there! You're pretty, so you can be our hostages." One of the vultures swooped down and grabbed Paulina and the other vulture grabbed Star. The two girls screamed. The vultures whirled them around until they were dizzy and all the more afraid. "There. Now there's no way Danny Phantom would leave them here to get their eyes pecked out! Or maybe to get their fingers bitten off!"

As people screamed and ran away, Danny, Sam and Tucker found a quiet spot in where Danny could change into his ghost form without being seen. He flew mightily up to the green vulture ghosts. "Hey where are Valerie and Cecelia?" Sam noticed they were gone. Tucker shrugged and the two of them ran back into the cafeteria to watch Danny challenge the fiends.

"See, I knew he would come." One vulture said to the other.

"Now we can blast him to oblivion just like we were instructed to do." The other vulture said. "I'd hate to return to more of _his_ angry threats!" He shuddered.

"Who do you work for?!" Danny demanded. "What's his name? Who sent you?"

The vulture ghosts looked at each other. "Nobody you know." They answered simultaneously. As the vultures charged at Danny, they released their talons and the girls began to fall. They screamed. Lucky for them, Danny was agile enough to swoop down and grab an arm of each of them. He set them gently on the ground. Star smiled at him and Paulina gave him a quick kiss on the cheek, much to the annoyance of Dash.

"Now, for you two." Danny flew at a rapid pace toward the ghost birds. Danny readied a plasma blast in each hand—ready to hit the ghosts. But he missed.

"Ha-ha!" One vulture taunted. "What an amateur!" The two vultures split up and flew around in different directions, forcing Danny to keep turning his head to see where the other one was going. He fired many blasts, but the vultures were just too fast. They laughed at him, and he was getting pretty mad.

"Is this what you call a battle, ghost boy?" One of the vultures teased. Danny angrily threw another blast.

Suddenly the vultures froze and a look of fear crossed their faces. Danny looked behind him and there were a pair of girls on hovering metal surfboards. One suit was red and one suit was yellow. Both had helmets to hide their identity, but Danny knew exactly who they were. "Get outta this lab!" A voice yelled. The girl in the red ignored Danny and went straight for the vultures.

"I'm getting just a little bit sick of your faces!" The girl in the yellow yelled at the ghostly birds whom she had recognized from before. "I'm certain that creepy blond boss of yours sent you! And if I ever see him again, I'll—"

"Whoa, slow down there, sweetie. You again? Really?" One of the vultures laughed and the other followed. "Wenn might boss us around but the three of us work for the big boss, who also wants Phantom out of his hair. We just came today because Wenn threatened to bite us again!" Then the vulture gasped as the other one whacked him with his wing. "Oooh! I shouldn't have said that!"

Danny glared. "What? Wenn?"

"You tell Wenn that HE's the real coward here!" Tucker yelled from below. "It was all a trick! A setup! He never intended to fight Danny himself but rather he was too scared and had you two come and do his bidding!"

The vultures looked at each other. "Well done, Sherlock." One of them quipped. "Yes it's true; Wenn's powers are not a thing to underestimate. We both know and fear those of his kind. You'd be wise to fear him as well."

"Please! If you featherbrained fiends had any brains whatsoever you'd realize who holds the weapons here." Valerie retorted, readying one of her many blasters.

"Yeah!" Danny added.

"Hang on, Phantom, I'm not finished with you yet either!" Valerie yelled back to him.

Danny backed up a bit. "Hang on now. We're fighting a common enemy here! We're going to have to work together."

"He's right!" Cecelia agreed, and Valerie gave her a look. "What? He is…"

"Great. Now we're outnumbered and outwitted." One of the vultures looked at the other. "So what's the plan?"

"I think I got a good one. Let's get outta here!" The other vulture panicked. The two vultures tried to make a break for it and the girls blasted them with green goop and they fell to the ground and wailed loudly. The yellow-suited girl tied them up with a special ghost rope she had. The vultures couldn't break it but they still squirmed. Danny was both impressed with their teamwork and afraid of it at the same time.

The girls laughed. "Don't even try, boys. Besides, there's no actual resistance to ecto-waste." The girl in the yellow suit said. "I learned that from the best!" she glanced over at Valerie who gave a proud nod.

The red-suited girl swung the tied up birds over her shoulder and flew way dramatically. The yellow-suited girl turned to Danny. Danny Phantom smiled. "Thank you for backing me up back there." He said sincerely. "I definitely appreciate it. I do hope we can be friends." He held out a hand as he hovered in front of her, hoping she would shake it.

But she did not smile back. "Don't think you'll be getting off that easily. I heard that _you're_ the one that they wanted to fight. That means you drew them here, and you're the reason for this invasion! What, did you think I wouldn't catch that? I wasn't born yesterday."

"So? They're not going to harm anyone now, and that's what matters." Danny immediately regretted the wording of that as he knew it was not the best.

"My point is that there wouldn't be a problem if _you_ weren't here. Look at this place!" Cecelia waved her hand. "It's a sad mess…" Danny looked at the room surrounding him and aide from the small clumps of people there were ectoblasts and plasmablast residue all over the walls, ceiling and floors. And there were a few holes too.

"Well, I'm…I'm sorry for this, but you've gotta know, I didn't send them here! They're my enemies too! Haven't you ever heard that saying…the enemy of my enemy…is my friend?"

"Whatever. Don't waste your breath. There was a time when I almost trusted you…when my mind was almost deceived…but now I know the truth. So you really are…never mind. Now there won't be any more trouble because I'm taking you in." The yellow-suited girl took him in a sudden headlock just long enough to tie him up with the unbreakable string and gad him and blindfold him. There was something on that gag cloth that made him all woozy. He didn't even get a chance to react before he was out cold.

There were many mixed reactions from citizens as they watched their hero get carried out of Axion labs by the mysterious yellow-suited girl. She waved to the red-suited girl who was standing outside waiting for her to follow. As soon as Cecelia was clear away from Axion labs, she thought about the next step in her plan. She looked down at her arms and she was holding the ghost boy.

He looked all tired an innocent with his face relaxed and eyes closed. The girl remembered what her friend had told her only a few hours ago—how Danny Phantom was a hero and he would never hurt anybody. And there he was, all bound up and ready for delivery to her father. She had been waiting so long for this moment. But on the other hand, there he was, a possibly innocent kid who was only trying to do the right thing.

What _was_ the right thing to do, anyways? If Cecelia had been asked this a year ago, she would have been certain of it. But now there were just so many conflicting voices in her head that she couldn't make a solid decision. The girl lost flight and landed her metallic hover board on the ground where she clicked her feet together and it disappeared back into her suit. She walked into an alleyway, still dragging the ghost boy with her.

What she couldn't get out of her mind was the decision to watch closely at what the ghost boy did before judging him. He fought alongside her and Valerie and had their backs, even though afterwards he knew they would come after them. And he even thanked her. Why? He had protected her from some of the vulture's blasts which she would have otherwise missed. He defended her. Why?

He had to have something she didn't. His heart was different from hers, though their actions were both noble. Hers were just misguided. In fact, she was more like Danny Phantom than she would ever care to admit. She pitied him now, as he had come so easily. She had waffled back and forth so many times but now finally landed on a certain side. She was going to try and stick with it this time.

Cecelia had taken it for granted in the moment but she realized she owed him her life. She loosened the knots on the string just enough so he would be able to slip his hand through when he woke up. She hid him in a dumpster and closed the lid, then pretended to have fainted onto the ground. It was not long before Valerie realized her companion was no longer following her. She retraced their path and found her friend lying in the alley seemingly unconscious. "Cecelia!" She gasped.

"Ohhhh what…happened?" Cecelia moaned. She pretended to just begin to wake up while her friend rushed to her aid.

"Do you think you'll be allright? Do you want to fly with me? Did that Phantom trick you into going here so he could beat you up?"

"No, no, Valerie. I didn't exactly see how he got away." Cecelia said. "But he didn't harm me at all." She made that clear. "He used that gag thing on me and I passed out." Cecelia knew that was a lie, but how else could she explain it without Valerie getting mad at her for setting the ghost boy free? "Valerie, I really don't think he's the enemy here. Please! You've got to believe me! I really think he's…on the same side as us. It doesn't sound possible, and I can't believe I even said that, but I looked into those eyes of his and I knew I had to believe it. He offered me his hand as a friend first, but I rejected it. Now I regret that. Come on, Valerie! Haven't you ever looked into his eyes?"

"Hmm, no, I don't think so. And I don't plan to, either. Some ghosts have hypnotic powers. Watch yourself." That was all Valerie said as she helped Cecelia up. Valerie hopped on her hoverboards and flew the weakened Cecelia off to the Government Guys in White lab.

"But Valerie, he was in earnest…I believe it! If I had the chance, I'd go back and talk to him!" Cecelia pleaded, but Valerie only shook her head in silence. Cecelia looked away. They entered and walked through the lab until they came to Dr. Hazel's office. The pair of doors slid open and Dr. Hazel welcomed them, and was interested to see what they had to report.


	28. Chapter 28

**Chapter 28**

The girls took off their helmets and Valerie thudded the two ghost vultures on the table. "Well done, girls! Wow, two real ghosts!" Dr. Hazel had some professionalists come in and unbind the vulture ghosts and keep them in cubicles that rendered their powers useless. "What's the situation on that pesky Danny Phantom, then?" Dr. Hazel asked in a serious tone.

Cecelia looked up at her father. "We don't have him." She answered as his eyes met with hers. She bit her lip.

"_Actually_, he got away." Valerie corrected. "We had him for a few moments but then, well, he..."

Dr. Hazel was upset. "I just received a message from your father, Valerie, about all the damage Danny Phantom caused for Axion labs. They don't have the money to keep paying for these…disasters that _he_ causes."

"Dad, it wasn't Danny's fault!" She started, and then he and Valerie both glared at her. "I mean, at least, not entirely. I think you've just been misunderstanding him." Cecelia pointed out. "Those two vulture ghosts came into the cafeteria demanding a battle with him and they kept teasing him, and well, he missed when he tried to hit them. They were his enemies too. He fought alongside Valerie and I, and defended us. If it weren't for him, we…"

"Speak for yourself, Cecelia." Valerie interjected with a proud look. "I'd be just fine myself."

Dr. Hazel sighed and began to pace. "Cecelia, you know Danny Phantom's the ghost Damon Gray wants in particular. I'm almost finished with the Equator and I want to test it on _Danny Phantom_. Specifically him."

Cecelia looked up in concern. "Why him, dad? Why does it have to be…him? For revenge? Is that it?"

"How dare you!" Mortimer snapped. "Because Damon wants the crime and damage put to an end once and for all, of course! And that won't happen unless that pest is gone! He's like a magnet for bad luck! Surely you can't deny he lured those ghosts here! Danny Phantom's ecto energy WILL be made use of by the Equator, whether I can count on you girls to catch him or not. And that's final!"

"I'd better go." Valerie slipped out of the room quietly. The other technicians took the birds into another room for examination. Cecelia remained in the room.

Mortimer frowned at his daughter. "Please don't tell me you've been fooled by the flimsy show he's been putting on? Tell me what you think of him now."

"Danny Phantom…well he…he saved Paulina and I before. And he saved Star today. I've been thinking about it for many days now and I'm beginning to realize he's not such a bad guy. I'll admit I waffled back and forth for the longest time, but when I look into his eyes, I just can't deny what's true anymore. I believe in him whether you do or not. I've been putting all of the pieces together. At first I thought it was a setup, but then I remembered the incident at Axion labs where he saved Valerie and I—"

"There was a previous incident at Axion labs?" Cecelia's father eyed her suspiciously. She hated it when he did that. "How come you didn't tell me that you've actually met Danny Phantom before? Cecelia Angelique Hazel…what all are you hiding from me?"

Cecelia hesitated and looked downward, purposely evading his beady little eyes. He had been such a good-looking man when he was younger but now this bitterness had warped his face. At least, that's what it looked like to her. "I thought you might get mad, so I purposely neglected mentioning him." She said quietly. "But yes, I have encountered him before."

"Oh, Cecelia I'm not mad." He grabbed her by the shoulders. "Don't be scared! That's the last thing I want. I just want you to feel safe and confident enough to stand up for what's right. That was one of the main themes in raising you. I love you, girl. If anything, I'm upset that you don't trust me like this. Tell me what happened. Please."

"Well I basically just did. There wasn't much to it. He saved us, and regardless of what you think, I would be dead or worse right now if it wasn't for him. Just think of it—me of all people. Someone who is his self-proclaimed enemy and he went out of his way to save me! That's it. And there wasn't a catch either. He was completely altruistic. It's like he was doing this all out of the goodness in his heart. I couldn't believe it at first, and even now that it's come out of my own mouth, it's just beginning to sink in."

"All ghosts are evil, Cecelia! How could you even think that a ghost's work could be used for anything besides that?! It was a ghost who killed your mother, remember! Poor sweet Rose…she was such a kind woman…and was attacked mercilessly and unprovoked!"

"I'm not going to get attacked like that, dad! And if I do, so help me, I will fight. With this equipment, I have been given a chance that most people don't have against the evils of this world. I've also been blessed with a friend with a similar suit and a mentor I can look up to. I'm alright as I am, dad, why is that so hard for you to understand? Yes there are countless evils out there in the world, but I believe Danny Phantom is good through and through! I'm NOT going to let you hurt him…"

"I'm sorry to just go off on you like that. It won't happen again. You know I love you and I'd do anything for you. I said the same thing for your mother, too. I loved her very much. And she loved both of us. I think if she were here somehow, she'd want you to avenge her death."

"You don't get it, dad!" Cecelia broke away, nearly on the verge of crying for once. She usually kept it inside but not today. "Danny Phantom didn't kill my mother!" Cecelia's father looked at her all forlorn. "I don't want to do it anymore! I don't want anyone to hurt Danny!" She began to sob and she put her face in her hands.

Mortimer Hazel kept a distance away from his daughter. He didn't know what to do. "What has made you think this way?" He demanded to know through his ordering whisper.

"My friends. I consider Danny Phantom a friend too. He offered me his friendship after all. This whole time, he's wanted nothing but peace. All this time, he's been trying to fix everything and we've been getting in his way. Well, I won't let that happen anymore." Cecelia determined fiercely. Her stern eyes cut through the watery tears and glared right back at her father.

"I don't even know whose daughter you are anymore." He stared hard at her. "Give me your bracelet that activates your suit. I think you're finished here." Cecelia hesitated. "Now!" Mortimer bellowed, but she did not comply. "You want to do it this way—fine. You're done." He said coldly. He turned his back on her and she opened the door to leave.

Cecelia gasped. She wasn't expecting to see Garth standing there, as he had walked up so silently. "You didn't hear any of that, did you?"

Garth put a friendly arm around her for comfort. "Let's get you back to school, girl." Garth and Cecelia got into his car and they drove back to Axion labs where the field trip was ended.

Meanwhile, back at the Guys in White lab, Dr. Hazel was having a private word with Valerie. "You _will_ bring me Danny Phantom, won't you?" He asked her. "With my daughter in a mood, she's become a real wild card and a threat to your mission. It may be hard on you alone, but you've always been strong, and I have faith you can take him down."

"You bet, Mr. Hazel." Valerie looked at Cecelia's suit while Dr. Hazel was inspecting it. "What are you looking for?"

"You told me you _had_ the ghost kid but he got away. Well, here it is. A white hair." Dr. Hazel handed Valerie the single hair that could only have come from Danny Phantom's head. "Put this in your tracker and you'll be able to find him wherever he is."

"Thank you, sir." Valerie took the hair and smiled.

Garth made sure that Cecelia had found the school group before he left. "Over there, I see Tucker and Sam." Cecelia pointed. "I'll be going with them, thanks."

Garth nodded. "Tell them I said hi." Garth said as he walked back to his car.

Cecelia went over to Sam and Tucker. "Hey guys." They looked at her odd because they knew the whole truth. But since Cecelia didn't know that they knew, she was confused as to why they weren't being friendly. "Where's your friend Danny? I'd like to talk to him." She smiled, as she was anxious to tell Danny she had decided to believe in the ghost boy. Sam and Tucker exchanged worried glances.

"Uh Danny went home." Sam replied quickly.

"Yeah, he started to feel pretty sick." Tucker added and Sam nodded to that.

"Oh shoot! I was sitting next to him for the whole bus ride!" Cecelia didn't want to catch what Danny had. "Well, if you see him later, tell him I hope he's feeling better."

"Will do." Sam and Tucker took a few steps away. "Then we'd best keep a distance, huh?" Tucker said nervously. Soon Sam and Tucker were so far away that Cecelia could not distinguish them from the crowd that was the students of Casper High. The two of them had reason to avoid Cecelia and at the same time they also kept an eye out for Danny as they actually didn't know where he was now.

"What do you think the girls did to him, Sam?" Tucker was worried. "Cecelia and Valerie don't realize anyone at our school knows of their secret identity, so they feel they're perfectly safe blending back in with us. Cecelia seemed rather happy too. I don't get it. And Valerie and Danny are still unaccounted for."

"I don't want to think about that. Let's just find him and make sure he's safe." Sam looked around. "Of course the adults want to get us out of here as soon as possible but some of our classmates are still panicking, unfortunately."

"We should probably go to his house and get the Fenton Boo-merang. I think it's still tuned into Danny's ecto-signature." Tucker said. He then noticed Valerie enter through the doors. He might have been the only one who saw Valerie rejoin the crowd. "Sam, you fake sick to a teacher. I'll keep Valerie at bay. Why do I get the idea she's somehow behind this?"

"Rodger." Sam said. She went over to Mr. Lancer. "Mr. Lancer, I feel wooooozy." She put her hand on his forehead and wobbled around dramatically. "Must be from my bullemingivitus."

"Hmm." Mr. Lancer stared at the thin girl. "A long word I don't understand…that can't be a good sign. It looks rather serious." He said with concern.

"I have to go hooooome." Sam moaned.

"And just what are your other symptoms?" Mr. Lancer asked doubtfully. He didn't believe her for a moment.

"I have…bowel…swine…cancer…cardiac…flu."

"Wow, that's a long complicated group!" Lancer suddenly believed. "Call up your mother and have her take you home before you get everyone else sick! And more importantly, me!" Mr. Lancer shoved Sam out of Axion labs. "Hopefully none of the other students will catch it, or you'll never hear the end of it from them!"

As soon as Lancer was out of sight, Sam dropped her disguise. With quick, ninja-like moves, she glided to the brick wall where she leaned dramatically. She flipped open her phone and speed-dialed Tucker. "I've made it out safe and I'm on my way to the Fenton house. What's your position?"

"Quit fooling around, Sam!" Tucker whispered harshly. "This could be serious!" She couldn't risk being caught with a phone or it might get confiscated. Tucker was attempting to catch up to Valerie and prod her for a clue as to Danny's whereabouts. "Wait, Sam, your parents are out of town for a business meeting, I thought, and the Fenton's house is twenty minutes away from here, in the car, no less! It'd be, what, a three-hours' walk?"

"I realize that." Sam said. A car door opened and Tucker heard it from the other end of the line. Then came a whooshing sound and the loud cry of car horns.

"You called up Mr. Fenton, didn't you?" Tucker asked bluntly.

"Yup." Sam said proudly. "Hey Tucker, I gotta go." Tucker hung up.

As Tucker approached Valerie then, he put on a forced smile. "Hey, Valerie."

"Oh hi techno geek." Valerie said, uninterested. "What do you want?"

"Look, I'm sorry for being annoying to you before. It's just that, well, Danny is my best friend and I've always been a little cautious of him. And I wanted to be certain you were the right kind of girl for him. Not just any random girl off the street could be deserving of such a great guy, you know. He really is the most loyal of person."

Valerie folded her arms. "So I've noticed."

"Are we, ya know, cool, now, sorta? Can't we be friends at least? Please? Come on, give me another chance, Valerie…"

Valerie warmed up a little and she maybe even smiled. "Yeah, sure. But only if you promise to stop talking to me so much, okay?"

Tucker nodded. "So, where is he anyways? Danny."

Instantly Valerie's smile disappeared and she looked around. "Oh I really don't know…I figured he would never stray too far from you and Manson but then again, I don't see her around either, now that you mention it. Is his sister here by any chance?"

"No, Jazz didn't come on this trip." Tucker answered. "And Sam went home sick."

"Hmmmmm…" Valerie mused. After the field trip was over, the kids all got picked up by their parents after being taken to the school. All except for Valerie and Cecelia of course, who remained at Axion labs. The two who had once been so close no longer wanted to speak to each other for the time being. It would be a wonder if they ever became friends again, because right now, it seemed like it was all over.

Back at the Fenton's house, Tucker had been dropped off and he helped Sam in the search for the Fenton Boo-merang. They had been searching frantically for hours, and there was still no call or text from Danny. "Finally, I've got it!" Tucker said heroically as he stuffed the Boo-merang into his backpack. On the way up the stairs, he looked on the couch where Jack Fenton had fallen asleep. "Gee, Sam, what exactly did you tell Danny's dad to get him to pick you up anyways? You didn't tell him Danny might be in trouble, did you?"

Sam shook his head. "Of course not. I just told him we were going to meet Danny somewhere and I wanted to get something for him. That's all."

"Tucker, what exactly happened to Danny?" Danielle stood in the way the two of them leaving the house. "Something's wrong."

"Take it easy, Danielle." Tucker said wearily. "We just want to find Danny for now. Valerie and Cecelia might have done something to him."

"Tucker…" Sam warned, hoping he would not share much more. After hearing so much talking, Jazz came down the stairs and it didn't take a single world to convey that she wanted to know what was going on as well.

Danielle gasped. "Well, we knew it was only a matter of time before something like this happened."

"Yes, I know, I just didn't believe they'd actually carry through like that. And even still, I'm not sure." Tucker said. "But with this, we can find him, and we'll be certain."

Danielle stepped out of Sam and Tucker's way and they proudly made their way outside. "Just wait a minute now. I'm coming with you. Jazz has homework so she'll stay home and cover for us, won't you, Jazz?" The redhead nodded from the steps.

"No, Danielle, it's too—" Tucker started, but she cut him off.

"Dangerous? Isn't that Sam's line? And besides, anything I do, my brother can do too." Danielle smiled. "Please let me come! I've been itching to do something exciting for days and the more you doubt me, the more I just want to prove myself to you. Besides, there's something important that I think you're forgetting."

Tucker gave her a look. "What is it?"

"We'll need to take the Specter Speeder if we want any chance of finding Danny before the sun goes down." Together, they went downstairs.

* * *

**Don't forget to review if you like it c: thank you**


	29. Chapter 29

**Chapter 29**

"But won't your parents suspect something? Even sixth Jazz around? I mean after all, we're going to be leaving in his thing." Tucker reminded the girls.

"Chill. My mom's doing a special meeting with the mayor and dad, well, he's sleeping, as you saw." Danielle replied with a smile. "So we're free to go!"

"The mayor? Hey that's _my_ dad! By the way, my parents think I'm sleeping over here. I told them right after Sam faked sick to get out of the field trip early."

"Wow, you two so bad. Such rebels." Danielle teased as Tucker started up the Speeder's engine and she and Sam joined him inside. Tucker drove and turned the Speeder intangible when needed. Danielle was excited for the ride and she squealed much like an immature little schoolgirl. Sam rolled her eyes. Why was Danielle starting to remind her more of Paulina and the other preppy girls than of Danny? Danielle sure had changed a lot in the past year—puberty had a way of doing that. It could either break people down, or make them feel like they were on top of the world.

"Find Danny." Tucker commanded the Boo-merang. He threw it outside and it flew around in its own style. The Specter Speeder followed closely behind. Tucker had faith the object would lead them to his friend.

"Oh no!" Sam started. "I just remembered…I need to be home right now…my parents wanted to discuss something with me about that stupid move!"

"But I already released the…ugh, fine." Tucker hated to veer off course but it was only for just a few moments to drop Sam off at her house. She thanked Tucker, and then he went back on his way with Danielle. It wasn't long before Tucker was able to match the speed of that ridiculously named ghost tracker once more. Danielle seemed thoroughly impressed with Tucker's driving skills, though she did not voice it.

Sam entered through the doors of her own house and hoped she wouldn't be scolded for being home later than she had promised. But her mother was freakishly happy, as usual. "Hi, sweetycheeks!" Sam's mother waved to her. "Good to see you're back! I hate it when you spend time with that bad influence friend of yours. I'm glad you two never got that serious. I wouldn't want to end up related to those incompetent ghost hunting fools by marriage."

Sam growled as she and her parents and grandmother gathered around the kitchen table to discuss moving plans. Sam had her own plans to of course stall them and prevent the move for as long as she possibly could. Given by the way they talked, there was no way she would be able to put it to a half completely. Leaving Amity Park would be inevitable for her, and eventually she'd just have to accept it.

Meanwhile, behind a building where nobody could see her, Valerie pressed a button and her suit appeared, thus transforming her into the red huntress. She didn't need her sidekick to succeed! No way! Valerie took out her tracker and turned it on so that it would be able to find Danny. But she didn't get the result she was expecting. Everywhere the Phantom kid had been, sat, eaten, drank, and even touched made the tracker go crazy. Apparently it reacted to wherever his DNA was, is, or had been.

"This is going to take forever." Valerie muttered as she flew through the town. "It shouldn't be too hard to find the hardest concentration of his DNA, and then, I'll have him." Valerie looked around carefully.

The ghost boy's DNA was literally almost _everywhere _in Amity Park from the streets to the sky to the Nasty Burger to the mayor's house to the suburbs. And the compass that was supposed to point the way to him was acting all wonky. Truthfully, Valerie didn't know which signal to follow.

Suddenly, the tracker had a beeping fit. "Ugh, what's wrong with this thing!" Valerie hit it lightly a few times and then looked down. Below was the alleyway was where Valerie had found Cecelia earlier. It was also the place where Danny had escaped.

"RECENT DNA FOUND." An automated voice came from the tracker.

"Recent DNA, huh?" Valerie looked inside the dumpster and sure enough, there was ghost boy DNA written all over it. "I knew it! She _did_ set him free!" In her anger, she let the dumpster lid fall and make a loud crashing sound. "She lied to me. She betrayed me…but no matter. Our friendship is already over anyways and she knows it." Valerie walked a few feet and suddenly the compass was working, sort of. "He must have gone this way." She theorized.

For hours, Valerie followed the trail of the ghost boy relentlessly. Night was nearing and she began to feel like she was following an endless maze. She was tired and hungry. She wanted to take a break. She wanted to give up an hour ago. But the thrill was just too great to let go of. Justice needed to be served. With every passing moment, Valerie kept trying to convince herself she was getting closer to finding Danny Phantom. Through tunnels she flew, and over small rivers, past city houses and over tall building she went.

The night had fully come and Valerie looked everywhere, and _I mean everywhere_, for her target. "Where is he?" She was growing angrier and angrier with frustration. She didn't want this to all be for nothing. She had already staked out three coffee shops and a Wal-Mart but Danny hadn't gone to either of those. Eventually, Valerie found herself in her own neighborhood and it was there that she decided to call it a day. She took off her suit and went inside with the tracker. "I'll find you, tomorrow, Phantom." Valerie said to herself. She yawned and fell asleep at the dining room table.

Outside, high in the sky and inside the Specter Speeder, Tucker and Danielle were not having much luck finding Danny either. "It shouldn't be taking this long." Tucker yawned. "And we're still in Amity Park, so Danny couldn't have gone far. Where in the world could he be?"

"I think we need to go home before my parents start to think something's up." Danielle suggested as Tucker steered the Speeder back home. Danielle phased out, retrieved the Boo-merang, and then phased back in. "I don't get it." She sighed in defeat. "I thought this would be easy, Tucker. Danny's still out there somewhere. I hope he's okay, wherever he is. Say, I wonder what Jazz has told my parents…" Danielle and Tucker slipped into the Fenton house quietly as Danielle used her powers to make ends meet.

Danielle phased the Speeder into the basement, then flew the two of them out so they could walk in the front door like normal people. Luckily Jack and Maddie didn't notice that they had been gone for hours and Danny still didn't return. Or, at least, the two of them thought they were home free when Maddie answered the door. "Where's Danny?" She asked.

"He's at Garth's! He's fine." Tucker replied. "We just dropped Sam off, and I figured I'd walk Danielle home since it had gotten so late. Bye!" Tucker skidded off, leaving Danielle to herself. She faked a smile and headed up to Jazz's room to tell her what all had really happened. On his walk home, Tucker was certain to call Sam and then Garth to keep them in the loop on Danny's current situation.

But Tucker wasn't the only one out for a walk this late. In another part of town, Cecelia had been wandering about just to get some fresh air, and she wasn't alone. "Stop following me, please." Cecelia walked forward but Danny Phantom blocked her way. "I just want to be left alone. I can barely hear myself think anymore with everyone trying to tell me what to do. I let you go, and now please let ME go. I don't even want to know how you figured out I was the girl in the yellow suit. I'm too tired to ask."

"I have to know why you set me free!" Danny was frustrated. "I want to know what changed your heart. And I wasn't following you, by the way. We just happened to run into each other. I was trying to get away from your friend in the red suit. She's using the tracker to find me. And if I don't keep moving, she'll catch up to both of us. So tell me why you set me free and I'll go be on my intended way."

"Fine. If you must know, it was your eyes." Cecelia answered without even looking at him. She turned the other direction, but Danny flew beside her. "Before you, and that dragon ghost I met at the dance…I really did believe all ghosts were evil. I was excited about my father's invention, but when I imagined it torturing you, among several other ghosts, I just couldn't side with him anymore. I tried to tell him you were good…that you saved me and my friends, and that I believed in you, but…"

Danny smiled in understanding. "It's alright; you don't have to say it." He knew exactly what she was talking about, even if she didn't know he knew. "Thank you. I can't tell you how much I appreciate it. I know you probably still want me gone, but please listen to this one last little offer, alright?" She shrugged. "Hey, how would you like to come to someplace where you'd be completely safe and you'd never be told to do something like that again?"

"What?" She asked, looking up at him suddenly.

"I have a team of humans and friendly ghosts who help me out when I'm in trouble. We fight bad ghosts too. The greater we are in number, the bigger plans we are able to coordinate. Together we've saved countless lives—far more than I could have saved on my own."

"I don't know…"

"Your friend in the red suit out there will have to give up eventually. And you can go home. But if you want, a meeting will be arranged tomorrow at the home of Garth Lloyd. I know you know him. Tomorrow we're off school because of parent-teacher conferences." Danny smiled. "It's the perfect opportunity. What do you say?"

"Oh, alright. I'll go home and get some sleep finally, if I can, and…wait, what do you mean WE are off school?"

Danny chuckled nervously. "Heh, um, I meant _you_. All of _you_ guys. Ah well, you know where he lives, so tomorrow at one, I'm hoping to see you there, okay? All new additions to our team are welcomed always. Do we have a deal?"

"You're trusting me…your enemy…with your secret meeting location? But how do you know I won't urn you in?"

Danny only chuckled. "…Your eyes." He replied and then flew away, off into the night sky, leaving the girl to simply watch him in awe. She returned to her own house as she wanted, and would of course not turn him in. if anyone asked, she'd just say that tomorrow she was headed for a friend's house. Danny would tell everyone that he was alright as soon as he got back to his own house.

No matter what she did, in the morning, Cecelia knew that the bracelet that allowed her to transform into her suit would be gone. No matter where she hid it, her father would find it and take it. But that was no matter right now, as she knew full well she could retrieve it from his office if she needed to. She went to bed still, anxious to see what tomorrow would bring. It was a good feeling; almost…excitement. Perhaps it even _was_ that.

There was no trouble in arranging a meeting in the afternoon on the day everyone had off school. Luckily no one had seen heads or tails of Valerie. Danny was the first to arrive at Garth's house, followed shortly after by Danielle, Jazz, Tucker, and Sam. Danny changed into his ghost form and prepared to greet their final guest as Garth opened the door for her. The two guys smiled as Cecelia walked in. "Everybody, this is Cecelia. She's joining the team officially as of today." Danny Phantom announced proudly to his friends.

Cecelia took a seat on the floor beside Danielle—the person in the room she was likely to have the most in common with. They began to talk as the rest of the members got settled. Instantly Cecelia could tell that she and this girl were meant to be friends. People started in a round with announcing information they had learned and reminding each other of old information to be sure everyone was on the same page. They remained sensitive though to Cecelia being here and were careful not to mention certain things. Cecelia felt bad because she had nothing to contribute as of yet. So she kind of sunk into the background.

"Okay, okay we're down to this: the Equator is almost finished, and we need to know what to do about that." Danny spoke to the group.

"And Valerie." Tucker added. "Don't forget her. She could barge in at any moment with this new tracker we've been hearing about."

"Right. She's probably tracking me right now still. You know how she doesn't like to give up. The paths I've flown in the past few hours will really keep her busy." Danny admitted, stifling a laugh or two.

"How did you know it was Valerie in the red suit?" Cecelia asked. Everybody stared at her silently.

"We have ways." Garth answered somberly.

"Wait, you told them, didn't you?" Cecelia asked. "Garth, you told these guys that Valerie and I were the girls in the suits from the very beginning! Have you always been on their side?"

Garth shrugged indifferently. "Enough, now." Tucker started. "We need to start thinking about the future rather than the past. There are more pressing matters at hand."

"You're right." Cecelia admitted. "I concede."

"So about the Equator." Jazz got them back on topic as she had her pen and notebook at the ready. "Anybody got any ideas?"

"I could destroy it." Cecelia spoke up. "I know all of my father's codes and I know exactly where it is and how to self-destruct it." Once again, they all stared at her. "That's a good idea, but I can't risk you getting hurt or killed. We've already made an agreement that we will all destroy it together. I'll have to be the one to do it, when its time comes. We'll have to set up a date and together we'll destroy it." Danny decided.

"Why together?" Cecelia questioned.

"Because I can turn us intangible when it explodes and we won't get hurt." Danny answered he didn't like the look on her face as she listened to the plan but eventually that thought was pushed out by so many other thoughts swarming his mind.

"What do we do once Valerie does find you? And how are we going to convince her that you're not the bad guy?" Tucker asked Danny. "We need to act fast, by the way. Somehow I feel like if we wait too much longer, bad things are going to start happening. Catastrophic things."

Danny sighed. "I'll have a talk with her."

"Are you sure she'll want to just…talk?" Garth asked.

"If we all talk to her one at a time, maybe that'll help." Tucker suggested.

"No." Garth replied somberly. "That won't work. Valerie's not a very trusting person. She'll need to be convinced. She'll need good, hard evidence that Danny's not a bad guy." Garth turned to Cecelia. "You know Valerie more than any of us. So tell us. What'll it take for her to believe?"

"I really don't know." Cecelia shrugged from being put on the spot. "Valerie will probably have to see something very special—something to throw off her strange sense of logic—something she can't explain."

"I know just the thing!" Danny said with a satisfied smile. "I think this actually might work!"

"What is it?" Sam asked.

"It's going to be a surprise." Danny said. "I'll let you know at Dash's party. But for now, the meeting is adjourned! Great talk, you guys. We've given each other hope, and that's what matters. I'm thinking we can really pull this off!"

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	30. Chapter 30

**Chapter 30**

Now that the team meeting was over, it was time to socialize. And so the expected plan of action followed. It was only a matter of time before someone suggested it after all! "Alright. Let's all head over to the Nasty Burger." Tucker suggested. "I'm hungry, and that place is worth the walk." There were mixed reactions of agreement and they all ambled outside.

"Actually I think I'll be going home now." Cecelia said. The five others waved goodbye to her and then she began her round towards her house. All the way she thought about destroying the Equator it would be the only way possible to somehow justify all she had done to Danny. Even if he said he had forgiven her, she still wouldn't be able to forgive herself for her mistakes until the job was done.

"Wait…_are you sure_?" Danny asked, walking after her a little. "I mean, we almost always go there after a meeting. It's kind of become a tradition. But I understand if you don't want to be seen with me. People tend to look, ya know. Heheh."

Somehow, Cecelia just felt "good" about the way the meeting had gone. Sam, Tucker, and Garth were her friends and she trusted them. She trusted Danny Phantom now too. She didn't know the one named Danielle very well yet, but was sure she would turn out to be a good person too. Cecelia had to admit to herself that she was surprised at how things turned out. She thought everything would be hopeless once she disobeyed her father. But that wasn't true at all. In fact, it was just beginning to look up. She smiled. "You know what? Maybe I will come with you after all!" The others cheered and Danny smiled back at her. All she had to do was look into his eyes to know she had done something right.

The gang of seven grabbed their seats at a large booth and placed their orders. Indeed, people did stare at Danny Phantom and his crew for coming to eat among them. But it wasn't uncomfortable at all. In fact it was almost natural. Cecelia found there was a certain mirth to his crew—when altogether—that she hadn't seen in a long time. Not since…since freshman year when she was hanging out with her own crew. And she adored it.

As soon as the meal was over, Cecelia knew she had best be getting back. She said her goodbyes to the gang and then headed on her way. The sun was just starting to peek out from behind the clouds and everything was looking brighter. Cecelia almost forgave her father to the point where she said hello to him as she passed him on the way to her bedroom at home.

"Cecelia!" He called her back, which she did not expect. "I've finished the Equator and I thought you should know." He announced. Cecelia felt a brittle shiver climb up her spine. She walked onward and didn't dare look back because she was afraid of what she might see looking over at her. She just kept walking.

It was late in the afternoon, long after the meeting, and Tucker was studying for a test by the open window of his bedroom. He let the cold November air blow in and it pleased him to cool off. He looked outside, distracted when he saw something flying around out there. It was a girl in a red suit—Valerie. Who else? Danny really wasn't kidding when he said Valerie would be busy for a while.

But then Tucker realized that Danny had just flown past that spot only minutes ago, which meant Valerie had basically caught up! Did Danny already know what? Was he prepared to fight her? Tucker quickly located his cell phone and called Danny. But he wasn't answering. "Ugh!" Tucker exclaimed in frustration. "He always forgets to bring his mobile when he goes ghost!" He just sighed, then, as there was nothing he could do for now. He headed to the window to get a better look out.

Outside, Danny was taking a peaceful flight around town, unawares of the danger that had been tracking him. The sun was beginning to set now that it was transitioning into evening and the birds were starting to return to their nests. Danny waved to some small schoolchildren who were fans of his and cheered as he flew past.

Then Danny flew across the city sign. Amity Park: A Nice Place To Live. That was what the sign said. Was it true? Sometimes it was debatable. There came a loud blast from behind and Danny dodged it just in time. He now faced the red-suited Valerie, who had been flying around trying to catch him for a long time. She looked furious. "I'm glad you decided to come out and fly again. I had almost lost your trail." Valerie said triumphantly.

Danny flew away at top speed. But still Valerie followed him. And she matched his speed wherever he went. It was a long time before he gave up. "What do you want?" He asked her, a bit out of breath.

"I want all the robberies to stop and I want my father's lab to stop being the target for your ghostly mayhem." Valerie and Danny circled each other similar to what was commonly seen at a wrestling tournament. "You are the enemy that's been attracting all of this trouble. With you out of the way, our whole town will rest better tonight, knowing they're just that much safer.

Danny scoffed. "Without me, there would be no town! Without me, Amity Park would have been destroyed many times over! How many times? I've lost count! All I ever do is try to stop these evil ghosts from attacking, so it should be no wonder that they're out to get me. _They_ find _me_; I don't call them to me. Believe me, I want to see them detained as much as you do! So, you don't understand. I was _protecting_ your father's lab. If you let me go, I'll prove it to you by Dash's party."

"That's in a few days!" Valerie exclaimed. She readied several weapon fires and aimed them all at Danny. "I see no reason to give you this chance. In that time, you could fly halfway across the country. In short, I don't trust you, Phantom!"

Danny put his hands in the air in surrender. "A-and-and if I don't meet up to your expectations, I'll turn myself in. You know from what happened the last time that I keep my word. You remember?"

Valerie scoffed and slowly lowered her weapons. "I'll settle for no less then to have my mind blown. If your little "surprise" is anything less, you _will_ regret it. It'll be straight to the Equator for you, and your ecto energy will power the main lab for months to come." And with that, Valerie flew away rapidly.

Danny drifted home, relieved but worried at the same time. He could only handle this feeling of constantly being on edge for so long. Once he was on solid ground, he changed back into Danny Fenton and went inside his house. He marched right up to his bedroom with a smile on his face.

Danielle followed him. "What are you so happy about?" She asked. From across the hall, Jazz's attention had been drawn in as well.

"Oh…nothing that you need to worry about." Danny answered smugly.

"Tell me! I need to know!" She pestered him.

"Danielle…" Jazz sighed, setting her book down on her bed and coming over to where they were. "Danielle, you might not have been around long enough to know this but bugging people won't necessarily make them do what you want."

Danielle rolled her eyes. "Sure, sure, but it always works with him!"

Danny huffed as both of the girls looked over. "Then I'll say it, fine. It's my plan. My plan's going perfectly! Everything's lining up exactly the way I want though I'm still shaking like a leaf when I think about it all. That's all I can tell you as of now, but at Dash's party you'll see everything come into place."

A slightly frustrated Danielle walked out of Danny's bedroom and closed the door. "I think she wanted a different answer." Jazz mentioned with a laugh. "Maybe she was hinting that she wanted to know more about that girl?"

Danny turned around. "What? Which girl?"

"Cecelia of course. Danielle doesn't have many friends outside of our little group and none of us have anything in common with her except you, but she needs someone to relate to on more than just a power level. I see her style developing as she's getting older bit by bit. I'm too much of a nerd to get her, and Sam's, well, Sam. But Cecelia and Danielle just clicked right from the start. I'm thinking next year when Danielle begins high school that she will want to take after Cecelia's crowd."

"Ah…really?" Danny felt his forehead. "Sorry, I've been so busy that I haven't noticed."

"It's fine, its fine." Jazz reassured him. "Don't worry about it. Unlike the rest of the world, you have an excuse." She smiled, and he smiled back. "So…one day whenever you get the chance, maybe tell Danielle more about Cecelia so that they can become friends quicker. Danielle needs someone around who's more her style. That's all I've got to say." She wandered back into her own bedroom. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight." Danny headed away. After his sisters were long gone, he picked up his cell phone and called Valerie. "Hey Val, it's your boyfriend." He started as he relaxed on his bed. His room was a mess but he was too exhausted to clean it right now. He wondered in what tone Valerie would reply to him. Would she be consistent or…two faced? What? Where did that thought come from? Valerie wasn't two-faced…was she?"

Before Danny had any more time to think that over, Valerie giggled from the other end of the line. "Hey you." She answered. "What's up, cutie?"

"How would you like to go to Dash's party with me? I've been waiting for the perfect time to ask you and I think this is it."

"Of course I'd like to go with you!" Valerie chirped. "I'm so excited for that party! I hear he invited like the whole school for once! Usually it's just the A-Listers and other people he likes, but this time, he invited your crowd too I hear."

"True, true. I'll pick ya up at four."

"It's a date." Valerie squealed, delighted, as she hung up her phone.

Meanwhile, Cecelia sat quietly in the center of her bedroom floor and meditated—something she hadn't done lately. Hard as she tried, she had been unable to focus her mind. She took a few deep breaths and then let the air out out slowly. She looked so peaceful from the outside, but inside there was a tempest she could not calm.

She had taken the time to relax every muscle in her body. She meditated on her own inner-energy. But something blocked her focus. Something tore her away from it all and she began to imagine what would happen when she and Danny destroyed the Equator. It was a daydream, almost like a trance. She pretended like she was really there…and her heart began to pound so loud that it was practically all she could hear.

_"__Cecelia, what's the password to the self-destruct?" Danny Phantom asked, turning to the girl with a look of urgency._

_"__3134546." She answered automatically, as she had forced herself to memorize it. Danny pressed a sequence of buttons on the Equator's command module control. _

_"__DR. HAZEL, YOU HAVE INITIATED THE SELF-BREAKDOWN OF THE EQUATOR. YOU HAVE FIVE SECONDS TO CLEAR THE BUILDING." An automated voice rang out loudly for everyone to hear. Danny and Cecelia looked around._

_Several alarms began to sound and the Equator ticked away. Danny grabbed Cecelia's hand and made the two of them intangible. Danny closed his eyes, but he held onto her tightly. Cecelia watched as her father's hard work imploded on itself and destroyed the entire building before their very eyes. All that remained was black ash and soot. _

_"__Nooooo!" Cecelia cried. "My father and Garth and all the other technicians, they died! Noooo! I'm a murderer! I'm a muuurrrrdeeerrrrerrrr!" Her scream was what drowned out the end of the daydream and ended it. _

Cecelia's eyes opened suddenly and then she remembered she was only meditating. "It's just my imagination." She said to herself. "It isn't real. That's not the way things will actually go. Of course not! I'll wait until everyone's gone. Then it'll be safe. I have to do this…on my own. It's my burden, not theirs." Her voice shook and her body. There had to be another way! Cecelia took another set of deep breaths—in and out over and over.

She couldn't bear to close her eyes so she kept them open for a minute or so and looked down at her hands. For a moment, she imagined blood on them—h er own blood. But once she blinked, it was gone. This whole thing had her all worked up so bad she had started to hallucinate! And just after she had been so happy earlier! She realized she had been holding onto her bedpost tightly, imagining in the daydream that it had been Danny. She quickly let go.

Cecelia owed Team Phantom more than she realized, and probably more than she ever would. "I know what I have to do." She said. She set aside all of her fears while also deciding the date—Dash's party. _Everyone_ would be there. Dash wanted to go all out for this holiday break coming up so he invited the entirety of the Casper High student body over to his house on the last day of school before it. Nothing said "Thanksgiving" like a bunch of rowdy teens dancing to blasting music of course!

All adults were off work and teenagers were off school. That meant that nobody would be at the Government Guys in White lab. Cecelia's father would be at home sleeping in. Danny Phantom, Sam, Tucker, Dash, Paulina, Valerie, Danny Fenton, Jazz, Garth, Star, Kwan, and everybody else would all be at the party which started at four in the evening. They'd be off having their innocent fun, celebrating. Cecelia knew where _she_ would be…not at the party, that's for sure! She layed down in her bed and tried to get some sleep, if she could.

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	31. Chapter 31

**Chapter 31**

Hands clapped around the giant open facility of the Government Guys in White laboratory as Dr. Hazel proudly announced the completion of the Equator. The clapping echoed throughout the large open building. And the only person not clapping in the entire room? Cecelia. Garth watched from a hallway—which he was not supposed to be doing.

Back in Dr. Hazel's office, two of the official agents of the Guys in White had a special conference with him in which Cecelia listened in through the door. "We'll be testing it tonight on those two vultures that Valerie brought us." Dr. Hazel said to his employers.

"Excellent work, Hazel." One of the men said. Cecelia's eyes narrowed automatically.

"I'm glad we hired you after all." The other men said.

"According to my calculations, the energy from one vulture ghost will be able to power this entire facility for eighteen hours." Dr. Hazel explained. "Just think of the possibilities for the future!"

"Wow." The men replied in unison. "We're impressed." The second of them added.

"I have no other choice but to promote you to a higher salary." The other man mentioned. "Good work. I'm pleased. There are still more things to be discussed but that can wait until later."

"Thank you. I will be forever grateful."

The men nodded. "You've earned it." They said together.

Cecelia's mouth hung wide open. She was appalled. She walked away from the door quietly; just long enough for her father's coworkers to leave. Cecelia stood in a shadowed hall near the back of the giant lab. She'd been thinking, and hard. Cecelia snuck down to a room in the lab that was supposed to be secret. It was the small dark excuse of a room that the vultures were kept in their cubicles. There was the pair—all tired and dehydrated and hungry. They'd been crammed in there for days awaiting their doom.

"I suppose you've come to boast, Hazel girl." One of the vultures said to Cecelia. "Look at us. At last, we've met our demise. Now we're done for. Toast."

Cecelia looked at them. "Oh yeah? What toaster?" The other vulture moaned loudly and dramatically which startled Cecelia a bit. The moaning got louder. "Hush!" Cecelia finally said and the moaning stopped. "I'll need a favor for you in exchange for your freedom." She whispered.

"Freedom? You helped catch us, remember!" One vulture staggered to the chipped talons he called feet.

Cecelia sighed. "Yes, and I'm sorry. I needed some time to get my priorities straight and I think I have a plan that you will lie. But once I let you go, I'll need you to make sure my father _stays away_ from this lab on a certain date which I will tell you later, got it? If you betray me, I'll turn you in with no remorse. Oh, and one more thing. You tell your master to leave Danny Phantom and his friends alone. Tell your master that I'm sending you as a token of my mercy."

"Wow. Didn't see that one coming." One of the vultures said to the other, astounded.

"I think he'll like it better if you come and talk to him yourself." The other vulture added, and both began to snicker mischievously.

"What's that? Why?" Her eyes narrowed once more.

"Never mind, never mind." The vultures insisted. "Forget it."

She glared to show them she was not kidding. "I'm not like my father. I don't want to kill ghosts."

"Technically we're already dead." A vulture imputed.

"_Do we have a deal?_" Cecelia asked slowly. Silently Garth watched her from the door. He had followed her ever since she slipped away. Garth was astonished by what she had offered the ghosts, and believed she really had a change of heart despite her actions being a bit of a foolish gamble.

The vultures looked at each other they were sweating. They could already _taste_ their freedom. They hesitated in giving her an answer. She was still the daughter of the enemy. "We have a deal." They said together.

Cecelia walked over to a control panel where she entered a series of complicated command codes onto a computer, using the edge of her sleeve to keep from leaving fingerprints. And then she pressed another combination of buttons, letters, and numbers and digits into another monitor. The vultures' cubicles released and they flew into the air.

The one thing she and her father had in common besides their skin and hair color was their innate ability for sharing a bit too much. Mortimer had told Cecelia all about his workplace and shared so many facts Cecelia had thought to be otherwise useless, that is, until now. He never expected she would betray him, and she hadn't seen this coming either. "Thank you for setting us free, Hazel girl." One of the vultures said. "We are grateful."

"As long as you keep your end, we won't have a problem. But aside from that, don't mention it. Really, don't. They'll have my head for this." The vulture ghosts phased through the walls and flew far, far away from the Government lab. They might have even gone back home. Cecelia put everything back the way it was before she came in—except for the vultures of course. She snuck out and headed home to pretend she had been there for the past half hour.

Cecelia closed her eyes and tried to envision her plan once more to make sure she had not missed any detail that would need to be addressed. Suddenly there was a strange darkness that blocked the sun from meeting with Cecelia's closed eyelids. She opened them. There stood the very brown dragon Cecelia had met at homecoming. She stood upright and stared strangely at him. She couldn't figure him out. "How did you find me? What…?"

"Oh, I have my ways." The dragon answered in his booming voice. He neither smiled nor frowned, but only stared back at her.

She tried to figure him out, but he didn't give any hints. "Well…don't just stand there, ghost, tell me what you want."

"I want to tell you something important but first I have to know that I can trust you."

"Very well then." She crossed her arms, similar to the way Valerie would. "You can trust me."

"It's not that easy. I know you were the one who let those two bird ghosts go but I can't imagine why. Could you perhaps tell me? Your answer will be proof of worth of my trust."

"What's it to you?" She asked, but the guy did not answer. His manner of speaking even reminded her a little of Garth though she was too clueless to make a solid connection. "Oh well, fine." She intended to tell him whether he replied or not. "I set them free because otherwise my father would have tortured them and converted them into electricity."

"It's a little late in the run to change the direction of your moral compass, don't you think?" He raised an eyebrow as he crossed his arms.

"Huh?" Cecelia unfolded her own arms and just gawked at him.

"You're too late." The ghost raised an eyebrow.

"Too late for what?"

"…Too late to make things change. Too late to make a real change, that is. Your efforts are pointless now. It's all in vain." He challenged her.

"No I'm not! I just saved their lives!"

"And what about Danny Phantom and me and all the other ghosts? Your father will capture a ghost sooner or later and he will use it. What will you do then? You have no powers. I don't really believe…you can do anything at all without that suit of yours. Speaking of which, where is it?"

"I don't know…my dad took it one night when I was asleep. I'm certain he hid it somewhere in the house…but that's not what's important now. No, it's not too late to change! It never is! I don't believe in too late's! As long as I want to, I'm certain I can contribute somehow. That Team Phantom group…I'm with them now. I've joined Danny Phantom, see? You can ask him if you don't believe me!"

"No, no, no. You misunderstand my point. Helping others is not a one-time deal. Once you make a choice like this, you'll have to stick with it and face the consequences, whatever they may be. Personally, I think you're just going to run away like a scared little kid if you're ever faced with a fight you don't want to take part in…"

"No! I won't run away! Never! I owe it to Danny Phantom and my other friends to do what needs to be done."

The dragon smiled. Now that he was convinced she was on the right side, he had a few things to tell her. "Follow me." He said kindly. Cecelia, more puzzled than ever, followed the dragon to the very back of the giant lab where some old recycled papers were kept. "There's a blind spot in security cameras right here, so I'm going to tell you my secret—or better yet show you." The brown dragon shrunk down into a strange form, it began to get more recognizable.

"Garth?" Cecelia asked wide-eyed. "Garth, is that really you? Are you actually a dragon?"

"I'll explain that later. But for now, I'm just grateful to know you're on the right side." Garth sighed in relief as he leaned so casually against the white brick wall. He looked very comfortable, given the circumstances.

"But Garth…wait…how is it that you're both…human and dragon?" Cecelia asked, pointing to him with a shaky finger. "Garth, what are you?"

Garth shrugged. "Beats me. Just another misfit freak, I suppose. I'll tell you the story of how I got my powers some other time. I'm glad you bought my bluff. I was just testing you after all. I had to know if you really had the right to be called a member of Team Phantom." He smiled. "And now I know for sure. Guilty as charged. Go, now, and try not to mess anything up, whatever you do."

Cecelia nodded. "Thanks Garth." She wanted to hug him but he backed away, showing her that he still didn't let anyone into his personal space no matter how good of a friend to him they thought they were. Cecelia turned around then and got back on her way. Garth headed back into his place of work. Despite how determined that girl was, Garth had thing lingering feeling that not everything was going to be exactly…alright.

The more time passed, the more Cecelia was able to calm down and focus. Meanwhile Danny got a bit antsy. "Is it Monday already?!" Danny asked as his alarm clock woke him up super early in the morning. He was foolish to get used to sleeping in—it was a tease. He hurriedly got dressed and was out the door just after Jazz had left for class in her own vehicle.

Outside, not a snowflake had fallen. This was the warmest November ever. In fact, it was so warm that local teen superhero Danny Phantom _flew_ to school—he was invisible of course. And he flew into the boys' bathroom where he transformed and then walked out of the stall and blended right into the average bunch of shuffling students.

In Mr. Lancer's class, Danny sat in between Tucker and Sam. "Where is Cecelia? I haven't seen her since that meeting you invited her to." Sam asked Danny with a whisper.

Danny shrugged. "Come to think of it, I haven't seen her either."

"I hope she's okay." Sam said. "I wonder where she—"

Lancer interrupted as Tucker cringed. "Ms. Manson, since you'd rather listen to your own voice than this lesson, I'll have no choice but to put you in the back—with the other geeks that you don't talk to." Mr. Lancer said plainly.

Sam growled and she took her books with her and moved to the back. "Hey Sam! I'm Mikey! We sat together in biology for half a semester in the tenth grade!" Sam put her head down on her desk. "How are you doing? Don't want to talk? That's okay! I'll do enough talking for the both of us! I'll catch you up. So last summer I started…"

The geek's voice faded out as the door opened and a girl stepped inside. It was Valerie. She was carrying only a backpack and a notebook. "I'm sorry I'm late, Mr. Lancer." She said and she filled the vacant seat Sam had left.

"Ms. Gray, how many times are you going to say "I'm sorry" about being late to class before you actually fix the problem? Not only am I going to talk to your father about this, but I'm going to give you a detention!"

"No…" Valerie said to herself. She winced. "Anything but the day of…"

"After school on the last day before Thanksgiving break, you, me, and whatever other delinquents get themselves in trouble from here on out will spend two hours after school polishing lockers."

Valerie was sad. "Do I have to serve it on the day of the party?" She asked herself quietly. "Really?" She looked up as she feared lancer had heard her.

"Yes you do, Valerie. In the future, might I suggest you _think_ about the consequences before you take your time in getting here." He had his arms crossed and looked much stricter than he had last year.

Valerie slumped in her chair, knowing there was no point in arguing. She really didn't have the wherewithal to. Tracking Danny Phantom for so long had really got her down. As much as Valerie's tempered nature would make her to bicker with Lancer, she knew he was right. She looked over at Danny who was smiling at her. She smiled back slightly. There was just something about that boy that allowed him to still remain happy regardless of the misfortunes that were happening around him, and perhaps that was one of many things she secretly valued about him most of all.

Teenage tragedies—however over exaggerated and dramatized they might be—meant a big deal to people in the moment. Valerie wished she had an attitude like his so that she could shrug it off and keep going. Danny was always so much cooler than people at this school gave him credit for. He meant a lot to Valerie. Her best wish to him was that one day he would open up his eyes and want to see it. After the school bell rang, Tucker approached Valerie. "Where is Cecelia? Have you seen her?" He asked.

Valerie's smile disappeared. "I honestly don't know." She answered quietly. And then she walked away coldly. Losing her best friend had hurt her more than she could ever say. She both wondered where Cecelia could be and feared it at the same time.

"Wait, Val!" Danny called to her. He followed her to their next class. He had a feeling he could cheer her up just by talking to her. He always knew how to make someone smile, and she really needed it.

Tucker stood with Sam in the doorway of the classroom, just watching and listening for now. Tucker saw that look in her eye and knew that she was still lusting after Danny, but had finally admitted in her heart that they would never belong together. He put his arm around her for support and she just looked at him, knowing what he meant. "If you really hate to be alone, I could…never mind." Tucker started.

"What?" Sam asked quietly.

"Never mind. Ugh. I was just going to say I could be your date at Dash's party if being by yourself is that much of an issue for you." Tucker elaborated. He only received a shrug in response. She walked into the classroom then and he followed to sit beside her.

Up at the front of the classroom, Danny and Valerie sat next to each other holding hands.

"Hey. I have a surprise for you that I'll show you at Dash's party." Danny whispered Valerie. "I'll try to call you to tell you more about it later." Valerie giggled she could only wait and see, but she secretly hoped it would be something cheesy and romantic. In actuality, it would be neither. The poor girl was in for a world of shock.


	32. Chapter 32

**Chapter 32**

While Danny and his friends—unintentionally—planned on "taking their time" to destroy the Equator, Cecelia didn't. Cecelia faked a fever to her father and he let her stay home from school while he went to a meeting with some men off-site to discuss his invention and publishing a story about it in the newspaper. Of course Cecelia was not really sick, but she was laden with guilt for having lied to him. Cecelia didn't like to lie, and she wasn't very good at it either. Surprisingly enough, he believed her. "Suck it up, Cecelia." She told herself. Everything she was about to do was absolutely necessary to her plan.

She ambled around the house looking everywhere for the bracelet that allowed her the use of her suit. Once she had discovered its location so that she could grab it quickly when she needed to, and moved on to gathering his blueprints and plans and other stuff as well as any diagrams, charts and records of anything he had created that would in any way be of harm to a ghost. The computer files she put on a hard drive and the blueprints and other hand-written items she folded neatly away into one of her old purses.

Activating her suit's intangibility, she reached into her father's safe and took out the blueprints to the Equator and anything else Equator-related. Cecelia spent the entire day scanning the house top to bottom and collecting everything related to her father's work. She even went so far as to accumulate the small-scale mini models. Cecelia was surprised at the mass the total quantity accounted for which was two purse-fulls.

Then Cecelia flew—intangibly—to the Government Guys in White lab and put both purses in Garth's locker. Later when she flew back home she would put the bracelet back where her dad had originally hidden it. Cecelia knew that Garth's would be the perfect hiding place for her items because Garth was always skipping work—he'd never even see it. Probably.

Maybe now would be a good time to find out where Garth had always gone when he was supposed to be here. Curiosity nagged at her mind. Cecelia flew to his house and turned tangible again. She rang the doorbell and he answered. "Aren't you supposed to be at school?" That dry voice came at her.

"Aren't you supposed to be at work?" She asked in return. But Garth was not in the mood. He let her in the house but it didn't seem like he had much to say. Cecelia waited for him to talk, but he didn't. "Why do you skip work so often anyways? Garth?"

"It's not really any of your business. Seriously you think you can just walk into my house and I'll tell you the answer?" Garth scoffed and did not cease what he had been doing.

Cecelia sat down. "I just want to get to know you…I also want to hear more about your powers. Knowing you know, and knowing that you're safe to be around even though you're a ghost…well, it's kind of…almost cool."

Garth scoffed again. "Almost?" He repeated.

"Sorry! No, I didn't mean it like that. It IS cool. _Very_ cool. Please tell me more. How else am I gonna know? Does Danny know? Danny Phantom?"

"Yes." Garth answered reluctantly. "They all know…and they also know to keep their distance from me because right now and for the next many weeks I have to train myself. I must maintain absolute focus and heighten my control. In short, I need to beef up. I'm going to need to double—no, triple—my strength and stamina. You see, at the end of December, I'm supposed to challenge the head dragon in Aragon's medieval realm. It's in the ghost zone. You don't wanna go there. I wouldn't expect you to know what any of this means, but it's my duty. Everyone has a duty. You saw my dragon form." Garth sighed. "But enough about me. What did you _really_ come over here for?" Garth turned around and finally made eye contact with her, so suddenly that it made her jump a little.

"I came to ask you that. I've always wondered. And by the way, if you do happen to go back to work and find two random purses there, they're mine. They're part of my plan. And you might want to remove any valuables from your locker before the night of that party."

"Party? What party?" Garth asked.

"The Dash Bash. You can crash if you want."

Garth rolled his eyes. "Do I look like a party kind of guy to you? Sheesh." He resumed his workout.

"I just thought since the rest of Team Phantom is going to be there, you might like to come. Come on, you can pass for a high schooler. Last year you were one."

Garth raised an eyebrow. "I dropped out of high school near the end of tenth grade. Thought I told you that." Cecelia went red. "Oh, no matter. I'll think on it. I'm certain Danny and Tucker will bug me to come to the party soon enough."

"Thanks Garth." Cecelia got up. "I really hope you can come." After that, she left, and Garth continued in his routine. Garth thought to himself how he really hated leaving the house for anything but work. But at the same time, Garth knew he needed to get out. He had fallen into his bad habit of pretending not to care and as much as being around a couple hundred people sounded like a nightmare, once Tucker started bugging him, there was no getting out of it.

Garth heard a beep from his phone on the tray and rolled his eyes. He paused momentarily to fan himself with his sweaty muscle shirt and then picked up the phone to check his new message. Sure enough it was from Tucker and the topic was one all too familiar. Garth didn't even bother resisting. What was the harm in going just once? He needed to feel some kind of thrill everyone in a while. After all, the daily routine of life had him bored out of his mind. "I'll be there. Fine. I'll come." Garth replied. He received a text back from Tucker who commented on how easy that was. At that, Garth resumed his routine again.

On the day before the party, Dash went home quickly from school and began preparing his larger-than-average home for the big event tomorrow. He had great plans for it. In fact, he believed it would be the greatest party he had thrown so far in his entire high school career. He had told all the guests he invited that there's no dress code, but he wanted them to try to look as cool as possible and to remember to bring him presents for his birthday which had passed not too long ago.

Decorating was work but Dash enjoyed it so he didn't mind it at all. He finished getting things set up rather early so he and his dad went outside to go toss a football around for fun. It was after dinner and dusk was beginning to creep up. As Dash continued playing that fair game of football with his old man, the phone rang. Soon Dash's mother called him inside, saying someone wanted to speak to him.

"Who is it?" Dash wondered out loud to himself as he headed inside. "Oh wait, I'm Dash Baxter, duh!" He smacked himself in the forehead. "Which means this could be anybody!" He bit his lip, really hoping it wasn't Paulina. That girl could really talk! The two of them could go from making out to arguing within minutes and as well, Dash was dumbfounded as to their current relationship status. The both of them loved to flirt with other people and neither of them really knew if they were together or not anymore.

"Hello?" Someone asked as Dash picked up the phone.

Dash didn't recognize the voice, that is, until the person identified themselves. "Whoa, Danny Phantom? Cool! I definitely want you at my party! Yes! Absolutely! So I'll see ya at my party tomorrow? That's great!" Dash put the phone down once their little talk was over. "Sa-weet! I'm gonna get to meet Danny Phantom! This is going to be the best party in the history of parties that I've thrown! Imagine that, he wanted to come to MY party! Me! Oh wait, duh, I'm Dash…of course he did." Dash smacked himself in the forehead once more.

Dash was about to head back outside just as his old man came in. "It's too dark out now, son." The man handed Dash his football back. "Maybe on the weekend, okay?"

Dash made a face. "Oh all right…" Dash agreed reluctantly. He headed into a shower to clean all that sweat off him before a frightful attempt at doing his algebra homework. He tried doing his homework for about three minutes and then quit. "This is dumb." He shoved the books aside to make room for his cell phone. And then he called up Paulina. He hadn't wanted to talk to her earlier but now he believed to finally have an idea of how to test if they were still dating or not. "Hey babe, I've got something special planned for the party tomorrow. You're a big fan of Danny Phantom, right?"

"Yes. Who isn't?"

"Well I got him to make a special appearance at my birthday party. I guess Danny knows who's cool around town, huh? Well anyways, I just wanted to let you know because Kwan told me you had a major crush on him."

"What…? How'd you know? Never mind that. I thought we were together though…"

"Hah, yeah right…how come I'm afraid that every time I turn my back, you're going to try to make a move on that ghost kid? How do you think I'm supposed to deal with that, huh? Why don't we just make our breakup official so that you can run along and make out with him…"

"Oh well, maybe I will." Paulina replied with a laugh.

Dash huffed. "Whatever." He wasn't really all that broken up about it. "Just look pretty tomorrow so I can make all the other guys jealous of me. They still think we're dating. But we're not. So let's keep that to ourselves, okay?"

"Deal. I'll see if I can't find that ghost boy and get him to make out with me. If I can't, then let's consider it back on, you and me."

"Gee! Don't say it like that! Don't make it sound like I'm second choice for you! GOSH you're so shallow…"

"Eh, please, it's not like I'm your first choice either and it's not like you haven't been hitting on girls all over the place when I'm not looking."

Dash sighed. Actually Paulina _was_ Dash's first choice, but she was right about him flirting with other girls. Dash replied once he had cooled off significantly. "Huh. Whatever, fine. But I'm game too, okay? If I find some hotter dumber girl than you, I'm taking her and consider yourself dumped."

Paulina laughed. "Fine then. Just make sure you look hotter than usual so that all the other girls wish they were me!" She said in a sing-song voice. "You know how I like to be the best. And I know how you like my competitive side just as much as I like yours."

Dash chuckled. "We're so weird. I love you."

"I love you too." She replied. "Goodnight, hot stuff."

And then Dash hung up the phone. "Aah, Paulina. She sure knows the quickest way to a man's heart." He sighed wistfully. Nothing, not even algebra, confused him as much as her. But he adored her for it, just the same.

While all of his younger friends were in school, Garth had some business to take care of before the party in the evening. Thanks to all the team meetings with Team Phantom, Garth now had easy access to a ghost portal and the knowledge of how to get in. It was only on a day like today that that access would come in handy. Today Garth would travel to the dragon realm in his dragon form and talk to Prince Aragon. This had to happen sooner or later.

Garth had only just recently bucked up the courage to do it. I was now or never! He had to make their world see that he was a worthy challenger even though he had been human born. Garth changed into dragon form and he flew across town intangible. Then he made it to the Fenton house. Garth went into the basement where the portal was just sitting there with its doors wide open. The teen flew through; unaware of what exactly he might be met with.

Garth hated being present in the eerie green world of ghosts. There were all sorts of strange sounds coming from realms far and near. The occasional breezes of smells were ghastly. There were random doorways floating everywhere that could lead to well, anywhere. And nothing marked the boundaries between realms, so property was always a big issue. Fights could break out at any time, and last for all of a few minutes to several months until one side was defeated. Garth knew that ghosts were not accustomed to showing mercy.

That was why Garth didn't know what all he was up against though he tried to keep himself as aware of the possibilities as much as he could. As Garth drifted onward towards the island realm of the medieval dragons—he had been told by Danny as far as what to look for—Garth had to watch out for all the ghost traffic floating around in every which way. Garth did not like this place one bit. In fact, he could almost feel his lunch in the back of his throat, coming up to greet him again. He swallowed it back—hard.

Garth looked ahead and he saw a world fashioned from the Dark Ages. "That's gotta be it." He said to himself as he flew forward. Garth entered the realm and guards let him pass because he was a dragon. "Where is Aragon?" He asked the guards. They pointed to a small golf field where Aragon, in his normal form, was playing golf with his two ladies-in-waiting. "Aragon I demand to speak with you." Garth made his voice sound all boomy-like, and puffed up.

Aragon just laughed as he turned around and stared at the pathetic and scruffy looking teen. "Who are you supposed to be, beanstalk?"

"I am Garth William Lloyd. And I want you to tell your citizens that in December, I will challenge your successor, Prince Lyon, for the throne. That is all."

This made Aragon cackle all the more. "Oh you will, will you? A nobody like you is going to challenge our proud race? We'll squash you out like a bug! Snuff you out like a torch in a monsoon! We'll obliterate you like…_like would a wandering human_." And then Aragon transformed into a dragon ghost three times the size of Garth as a show of power.

Garth might have gulped and taken a step back, but he didn't back down. He didn't know where this boldness of his had come from, but he liked it. He stared Aragon right in the eye and spoke to him with courage undeniable. "I'm not afraid of you."

Aragon breathed fire on Garth and Garth fought back with some flames of his own. "You're so weak!" Aragon said to Garth. "It makes me sick to see one such as yourself assume the honorable form of a dragon. How pathetic! Disgusting! An inexcusable disgrace! Get your wretched face out of here!"

Garth stepped forward. "Not until you acknowledge me as a competitor." He said through clenched teeth as his eyes narrowed. He did not break eye contact with the enemy. Garth could see Aragon was made all the more uncomfortable by that.

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**Wow after this there are only two more chapters! Can you believe it? Thanks for all of you who have been reading :D don't forget to review if you liked it! Yay!**


	33. Chapter 33

**Second to last chapter coming your way!**

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**Chapter 33**

"I'd almost rather take you up on that offer of yours just to watch you fail. And then the rest of my realm would have even more proof of Lyon's superiority." Aragon was so cocky that it made Garth want to beat him up all the more harder. "After they've laughed at you for being such a miserable failure of course. I know what you are…oh yes. And if I had my chance I'd slit your throat and pull that precious amulet right out of you."

"I'd like…to see you try!" Garth growled. "Just try!" He sent another round of fire blasts at Aragon but the professional dodged them well. "I'll beat Lyon, you'll see! I'll crush him! And then you'll have no choice but to crown me the winner! But I assure you, I'll be a much better ruler than Lyon ever could!"

Aragon roared. "Ohhh, don't you say that about my nephew!" Aragon took a deep breath and a raging river of hot fire poured from his mouth and onto Garth. "You know nothing, you fool! How dare you!"

Garth was lucky that dragon skin was nearly fireproof. Garth merely turned intangible and let the fire surpass him until Aragon had completely run out of breath. Then Garth wrapped his tail around Aragon's neck—sort of like a headlock—thus choking off his breathing so no more fire could come out. And then for the final blow, Garth punched Aragon as hard as possible and Aragon was so shocked that he fell to the ground.

"Let me go" Aragon managed to say though Garth was still choking him.

"I want a real battle against Lyon—a fair one. Allow me to enter. And if I win, I'll be crowned the ruler of your realm." Garth bargained. Aragon still hesitated to answer. Garth squeezed Aragon's neck tighter.

"And if you lose…my people will roast you alive…and get our amulet back! You little thief!"

"I'M NOT A THIEF!" Garth roared. "I never wanted your stupid amulet in the first place!" He yelled, and then got suddenly quieter. "All I wanted…was to be normal. But now I know I have a purpose. I am who I am for a reason, and that reason is to save this kingdom from tyrants like you and Lyon!" Garth breathed fire on Aragon once more.

"Okay, okay, if you win, I'll declare you the new Prince of the medieval realm." Aragon snarled.

Garth released his strong grasp on Aragon's neck and Aragon stood up tall again.

Garth decided to make his way out of here as quick as possible before Aragon changed his mind. Garth flew speedily through the ghost zone and back to his home. Garth looked at his clock. "Oh shoot! It's almost time for the big party at Dash's place! I'd better get ready!"

Cecelia grinned widely at school when at lunch she sat with Tucker, Sam, Jazz, and Danny at the once empty table. For once, they were all together. Why did Cecelia get the feeling this might be the last time as well? When Valerie sat down next to Danny, Cecelia lost her smile and her appetite. Every time she looked at Valerie, she was reminded how she had betrayed her own father and her best friend Valerie.

What would Valerie think if she knew the truth? And Garth's secret? Cecelia didn't want to deal with that right now, so she only talked to the others. Of course, Valerie wasn't actually mad at Cecelia. Was she? Cecelia didn't even want to think about losing her best friend on a day like today. School dragged on and on and people were grateful when the last bell finally came. Thanksgiving break came very quickly.

Some kids enjoyed the holiday. Others gorged themselves on fattening foods. Some slept it away. They slept and slept until their alarm clocks went off in their ears. That party sort of feeling was in the air. Dash rushed home to make sure everything was ready for the party. He took a shower and shaved. He looked very…_dash_ing, and bore a look of confidence. He couldn't wait to start hitting on some babes and hoped Paulina wouldn't see.

Meanwhile Tucker actually took off his hat and put on some deodorant. He put on these contacts which he had for ages but never used because they made his eyes watery. For once he actually looked like he had some class. He wasn't quite sure what vibe he wanted to put out tonight, but perhaps it would have something to do with T.F. for Too Fine.

Sam went for the late-night gothic look and wore a different shade of lipstick—black. She actually wore some eye makeup as well as putting her hair up like she did once at a freshman dance. As for Danny, he Danny put on a black hoodie that had a special looking Danny Phantom emblem on it—they were sold at the local store. It was ironic that he would be the one among them to go around wearing it. And lastly, Garth, well, he looked exactly the same.

On the not-so-happy side of things, Valerie was stuck in detention and that meant she couldn't go to the party with Danny like she had planned, which upset her. Valerie sat at a desk and face Mr. Lancer. He sat at his desk grading papers. Valerie was the only student in the room. "How much time do I have left?" She asked impatiently.

"You need to stop being so impatient. You have a half-hour. Mr. Baxter's house is ten minutes away from here so there's no reason you should complain to me about being late to the party."

Lancer explained and soon Valerie groaned in annoyance.

At the Baxter house, guests were arriving more rapidly than Dash had accounted for. But when Paulina arrived, he forgot all about the other people in the room, which was unexpected. He had planned to flirt around but he couldn't take his eyes off her. Together they danced, and they were the envy of pretty much every other couple out there. And then they kissed. Some people clapped for that, even.

Somewhere along the way, Danny met up with Sam and Tucker who had been walking to the party together. Tucker had offered to be her date and she had accepted, though they both decided to keep the fact to themselves. It was Danny's idea for them all to fly. Danny took his friends by the arms and with all of his strength he got them to the party much faster than they would have arrived if they had been walking.

Danny remained as a ghost, instead of changing back, for once. They asked him where Jazz was and he told them she didn't really do parties and was of course at home studying. It was typical Jazz and that was that. She preferred her bookworm way of life. But Tucker and Sam suspected Danielle would just about kill to have been invited but Dash didn't know she existed. She had seen him in passing though and briefly thought he was attractive.

Then the conversation switched to a new topic. "Don't you want to dance like your normal self, Danny? You know, to blend in?" Tucker asked awkwardly.

"To blend in?" Danny repeated. Tucker nodded in return. Danny still didn't feel like changing back, but he ushered Tucker to go in without him.

That left Sam and Danny. "Gee, Danny, if Valerie knew your secret, you could have flown her here." She commented as Danny rolled his eyes.

Danny ignored her remark as the two of them walked in, trying to be as subtle as possible. He started watching out the window for Valerie to arrive. "Do you think it would be too strange if I flew back over there and walked with her here?"

"Yes." Tucker answered.

At that time, Paulina came over with a smile, and asked to speak to Danny alone. Paulina took Danny by the arm and pulled him away from his friends down through the hallway. It was an area of the house that was not as well lit and nobody seemed to be around. "I always wondered why you chose to stick around those two losers." Paulina said with a laugh as she stepped closer to him. She looked into his eyes and the awkwardness in him came out briefly.

Danny tried to take a step back but the wall was there. "Paulina…I…"

"Shh…don't say a word…" She whispered as she pulled him into a real kiss at last. It was a shame for him to know he let her do it for a while because it felt so good. Eventually he pulled her off.

"I'm…really sorry. Got to go!" Danny said before rushing off. He dove back into the crowd and headed straight for his friends. There was no need to speak of this to them, was there? It could only bring him trouble. Besides, at least he knew that if things didn't work out with Valerie…well, never mind.

Paulina just leaned hopelessly against the wall and sighed. "Playing hard to get, huh? I wonder if that ghost boy's hiding something…hmmm…"

"Hey, Garth's here." Tucker mentioned to Sam just as Danny headed back over and out of breath, too. "I'm glad he could come, you know. The poor guy doesn't seem like he's seen too many cool parties, or any at all, rather. I'm glad we invited him and hopefully no one will figure out that he's crashed." Danny and Sam nodded in agreement as Garth walked in.

"Hi guys." The tall gangly guy greeted Sam and Danny. "Why the serious faces? I thought you guys would be bouncing off the walls at this place. I thought if I didn't show up, I'd get an earful. But it seems you guys are the ones who need to get your heads in the game. What, Danny, are you watching for Valerie? No, wait, you can't be, not in that form."

"Well, Valerie _is_ my date." The boy replied in a whisper.

Garth looked at Sam. "I bet you're bored, huh?" Sam nodded. "And you, Tucker, I can't wait to see these new "wicked sick moves" you are going to "bust" to those "ill beats" on the dance floor to "snag some checks"." Garth recited to the techno geek.

Tucker gulped and just stared back uneasily. "It's "chicks", and suddenly I'm not feeling so hot right now." He said, casting a wary glance to some of the A-Listers who were dancing closest to the DJ. "But just you wait, Garth, and I will blow your mind! All in time, my good friend. You'll see. Babes will be lining up to talk to me."

"Only if it's to boo you off." Sam remarked under her breath.

Somebody tapped Danny on the shoulder from behind. It was Dash, no surprise. Danny turned around and his three friends silenced as well. "Wow! Danny Phantom! You're really awesome! I can't believe you're here, in my very house! Could you sign this football for me?" Dash handed Danny an expensive football and a sharpie marker. Danny signed it, as it had practically been shoved into his chest. Dash's eyes goggled as Danny returned his object to him. "Gee thanks! This will be worth a fortune on—er, I mean, I'm going to keep this thing forever, for the rest of my life! Thanks!"

"Is that the only reason you wanted me to come here, Dash?" Danny asked dryly. "To sign your football?"

"Oh wow! You know my name!" Dash exclaimed. "But hey, shh! Don't say anything about that because I told people that you asked to come to my party because I'm the coolest guy at Casper High. But thanks anyways, Danny Phantom. You rock, for this, and you'll always be welcome at my place, buddy! I really owe ya one!" That was all Dash had to say before he disappeared into the crowd again.

"Can I get that in writing?" Danny muttered under his breath after Dash was already too far off to hear. Then with a heavy sigh he turned back to his friends as well as that window which he stared so longingly out of. He kept telling himself Valerie was "the one" and that she was his soul mate perhaps. But there was always that little bit of doubt and he had been deaf to this fact far too long. Would she really come through?

It was time to test this theory…once and for all. He had determined that in the right moment, he was going to tell her the truth. He had made up his mind. Finally, she arrived, and he got all weak-kneed again. Danny looked over at the door and there was Valerie, all bundled up in winter gear because she was shivering. The boy wanted to hold her close and then remembered he was still in ghost form. He went into a bathroom and came out as Danny Fenton.

Then he ran over to Valerie and gave her a big warm hug to warm her up. Then she gave him a kiss. "Hey." She said to him with a smile she had forced. She was still irritated by detention, and hoped that being around her adorable boyfriend would get her out of this odd mood.

"Hey." Danny replied in a flirtatious way. They joined hands. Sam, Garth, and Tucker tried to look away. They slowly inched off and eventually were in another room altogether. Valerie and Danny could be alone now. Danny smiled briefly for a moment and then he remembered the surprise he wanted to show her. "Come with me." He pulled her along.

Valerie giggled like a little child would have laughed on Christmas morning. "Where are you taking me?" She asked dramatically.

"I know you were just outside." Danny led her through the open front door and they walked out. Danny didn't see anyone else around. He took Valerie's hands in his once again. It was best to go into this with a positive outlook, expecting the best outcome, because that was likely to increase the chance of its happening. "I-I wanted to show you something that's very important to me. Please don't be offended when I tell you…you don't know me as well as you think you do. You only know a part of me."

"What is all this you're saying?" Valerie inquired, fearing instantly that it was something bad. And she was already in a not-so-good mood—she just didn't want him to know it.

Danny took a deep breath. Here…it was about to happen _here_. In the next few seconds, his very life could be endangered if she tried to kill him…if she could not look past her own hatred. "Valerie Gray, What you're about to see you can't forget, you can't change, and you can't deny. It doesn't seem possible, but it's real, and has been for two years now. I won't belittle it and say that it won't change our relationship because it will absolutely. And you might never look at me the same again…but, I'm willing to risk that. I care about you enough and trust you enough to show you the rest of me…the other side…which is unfortunately all too familiar for you. Here it goes." Blue rings appeared around Danny's waistline and they changed him into the infamous hero that all people recognized. "Sure you know I'm Danny Fenton, but I'm also…Danny _Phantom_." His eerie ghost voice was but a whisper.

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**Sooo Danny just revealed his secret to Valerie...finally! How do you think she will react?**


	34. Chapter 34

**Well, here you have it, the final chapter of this novel! The next novel will hopefully be up soon ;)**

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**Chapter 34**

"That's the basic idea. But it's not that simple either, Valerie." Garth continued. "Dr. Hazel isn't doing his work for the right reasons. He only created the Equator so that he could get revenge on ghosts for killing his wife. He really doesn't care about ridding this town of bad ghosts—that's Danny Phantom's job." Garth continued. Sam and Tucker listened barely as they tried to get Danny up. Garth explained what little he could to Valerie to try and get her to understand.

Valerie still tried to pull Garth along with her. "How can you say that? You've worked in the same place with Dr. Hazel since even before he came!"

Garth still stood firm. "There's a lot you don't understand about the way things work." He mentioned, thinking back to his own powers and the real reason he had started working there which was to know the enemy inside and out. "Danny's been trying to give you a chance to understand it but once he finally finds the right moment, you reject him. I didn't need to be there to know just exactly the "big surprise" Danny revealed to you." Garth looked at Valerie's wild eyes and he knew he had to help her. "But if you really want to see Cecelia, I know a quicker way to get there." Garth headed over to the others by the couch with Danny.

Poor Danny was more upset than ever before in his entire life. "Why ever did Cecelia do that? Even after we so carefully planned everything? After she knew, too…gah, I just hope it isn't true, Garth. I hope you're wrong…but…you rarely ever are. That's a scary thing." Danny asked pathetically. "What else could go wrong?"

"Cecelia never actually told me she was going to do that, but I don't believe she's above it. I'm thinking after we befriended her, her conscience started screaming at her and she didn't know what else to do. It's the classic guilt trip—the strongest feeling of guilt can only be generated by oneself. No matter what we said or did, I don't think it would have made a difference in her head." Garth admitted. "And don't you getting all forlorn on us right now, Danny. Without you, we're all done for. You've got to keep it together, or else there isn't any hope for the rest of us." Garth stared at Danny, all serious and strict. "Get up. Come on, let's go."

Danny nodded at the rebuke and sat up straight. "Again, you're right. Well, we need to find her and stop her if at all possible. Immediately. There's no time to waste!" He stood up, all fired up and ready to jump on her the moment he saw her.

"No, not like that!" Garth protested, pushing Danny back down by the shoulders. "She knows the place inside and out. The only reason I didn't go there myself instead of to this party is because I think she's onto something. I'm shocked that an airhead like her memorized the blueprints like she did. She's really a wonder, that one. Stupid for the most part, but if you write her off as only that you'll miss those few moments of brilliance she has. There's not a soul in the Government Guys in White laboratory and that's exactly the way she wanted it. Now there's no life risk but her own. And it's not even a risk at that. Her suit allows her to go intangible just like you, Danny. She's safe."

"Team Phantom?" Valerie asked. "You guys…you are…and you planned to destroy the Equator too? How did you even know…" But her statements went ignored.

"Even if we went forward with Team Phantom's plan for destroying the thing, it would still be more lives at risk than with just her going in. I realized. She said with the amount of energy that thing has in it, the blast radius will be small enough that she will get out in no time at all. Watch and wait—you'll fly over there and see she hasn't got a scratch on her. The whole place is going to go kaboom eventually as the Equator is attached to a structural wall. Just to be safe, Cecelia will be using the intangibility effect on her suit so that she won't get blown away. I trust her thinking. I've trained her, after all." Garth said with surety.

"I don't buy it." Danny said, standing up again. Suddenly the full force of his confidence was restored, at least, for the time being. "Let's fly. I want to have a word with Cecelia about all of this." He and his friends left the party and walked on foot until they were too far away to be seen. Danny transformed into his ghost half and Valerie pressed a button and her suit appeared. Then she clicked her two heels and the hover board appeared beneath her feet. Garth looked at Danny awaiting approval to change into dragon form. "I think Valerie's learned enough secrets for one night." Danny whispered to Garth. "Don't want to set her off." Garth nodded in response. So Garth rode with Valerie on her board. Danny picked up Tucker and Sam and off they flew into the night sky and onward.

The Government Guys in White lab was not far. Cecelia had come straight after school. She was glad that this morning the vulture ghosts arrived at her house to guard her sleeping dad. With the help of them, she was able to locate the bracelet that spawned her suit. Her temporary truce with the vultures made her uncomfortable and she feared they might attack her father. But then she realized all she had to do was threaten to not destroy the Equator, and they became afraid. They feared its power of course, as all ghosts who heard of it did.

Cecelia came in her suit as she ambled briskly through the lab. She entered all the passwords and other characters required to initiate the self-breakdown of the Equator. It was a little broken, but she trusted it to work if she needed it. But she figured she wouldn't need it at all anyways. She knew that the "safety" level of this mission she had explained to Garth was exaggerated a little, and at this point she really didn't care.

If the explosion really did send her to the grave, she was perfectly willing to give her life to make this broad statement—that there were good ghosts out there and there was an abundance of good in the world too. If Cecelia ever started to doubt her actions, she would remember looking into Danny Phantom's eyes. Only then would she feel allright—a strange sort of peace despite the unknown dangers of destiny.

She would leave it up to fate and chance to decide if she was to live or not. At this point she didn't even really care about her own life at all. The more she started to let others into her heart, the less she cared for her own self—and in a good way. Her heart had changed into that of a hero's, though she did not realize. She didn't need to be known as the person who destroyed it all. Her conscience just could not allow her to keep on going the way things were headed.

When the time came, Cecelia entered the password to her father's lab. She smiled at her own success when the door opened. However, she did not look down and she tripped over something small and with a "thud" she landed on the floor. She was lucky to have the reflex that allowed her to put her arm down to break her fall. As she stood up, she realized that the whole lab was messy. _Oh well_, she thought. It will all be going down anyways.

This lab was organized all wrong. Things were misplaced. Perhaps Mortimer had grown even more scatterbrained in recent days. Cecelia didn't even notice; she was so caught up in her own life and plans. She thought there was something off about her father. In these last few minutes before she initiated the self-destruct on the Equator, she reminded herself of why she was doing this…to save all ghosts and give the good ones that chance they deserved. It meant allowing the evil ones to be off the hook, but the people who had the power to do good could change that. Surely Danny Phantom would keep doing what he had been doing all along.

The ghosts would never even realize what she was doing. By destroying all of her father's research she would be dissolving the possibility of the Guys in White creating and distributing technology that could seriously hurt bad and good ghosts alike. Cecelia couldn't let that happen. She _wouldn't_ let that happen. She knew that her father had a habit of going too far before he learned his lesson. Cecelia entered the code.

"DR. HAZEL YOU HAVE INITIATED THE SELF-BREAKDOWN SEQUENCE. YOU HAVE TWENTY SECONDS TO CLEAR THE BUILDING." An automated sequence sounded.

Cecelia pressed the intangibility button on her suit, but nothing happened. Then she looked down and saw that was around the area of the part of her body she had landed on when she tripped. Cecelia was very afraid once the truth hit her. She tried clicking her feet together, but her surfboard didn't appear either. _Why wasn't it working?!_

She had a moment of brief panic where she began to regret everything. To force that doubt out, she began to think of nothing short of running to get out of the building or at least as far away she could. She almost tripped a few times as she scampered off. There was no way she could make it out in time but she had to try. She jumped down the stairs because they were faster than the elevator. She looked ahead.

The front doors were still so far away. She heard a cackling, booming sound. She dared not look back to what it was. She already knew that it was fate catching up to her, ready to consume her and get her back for any misdeeds she had ever done. In the few milliseconds of stillness and quietness, she gave in and let it take her. She fainted even before the explosion's force had done with her. It left her lying unconscious on the ground surrounded by the remains of the Government Guys in White lab.

By the time Danny, Valerie, Garth, Sam, and Tucker all arrived on location, it had already blown down. The few small fires created by the explosion quickly died out. Ash was everywhere. It didn't seem like any neighboring places were close enough that the explosion could be heard. Little remained…and what was left was destroyed beyond repair. The radius of impact had been far greater than expected. That one machine didn't seem so big but it had a lot of combustion energy.

The group just looked at the place for a moment and didn't know how to react. It was Danny who found Cecelia first and the others quickly rushed over. Danny knelt down, shoved rubbish away, and felt her pulse. The results were not good. The rest of the group surrounded him as he held Cecelia in his arms, incapable of speaking a word of even moving for a moment.

"It seems she's been here awhile. There was nothing we could do." Tucker stated to the others. Realizing what this meant, one by one, they began to cry.

"She's my best friend." Valerie whispered softly. "The best I ever had…there can be no other."

"She was a good person. Kind and friendly to others, despite the reputation the A-Listers have." Sam noted.

"She laughed with me." Tucker contributed. "I'm glad I met her. I really didn't know her too well, but I wish I had."

"She was the first real friend I've had in a long, long time." Garth said, breaking down. "What was I thinking? So stupid! I shouldn't have listened! I shouldn't have let her go! What are we going to tell her father? Or will we just leave her here? Your fingerprints are on her clothes, Danny! I never really let myself imagine that—"

"Don't beat yourself up about it. There's nothing more we could have done, okay?" Sam said.

"Regret is pointless." Tucker added, shaking his head sadly. "Situations so delicate should not fall on the shoulders of kids like us. If anyone's to blame—and no I'm not saying we should go pointing the finger—honestly it's the adults who have been shirking their responsibilities."

"But if we don't who will?" Danny asked coldly, still staring at the bloody body. Finally he had spoken. At least Cecelia was still all in one piece—at least she had passed on all together and not in some disgusting mutilated fashion. Danny sighed, his whole body trembling. "This night…we must remember this night forever, for the rest of our lives. Her death means nothing if the world hasn't improved in some way from it! We need to remember her message and her cause—we need to keep fighting for peace and show the world that not all ghosts are evil."

"Not all ghosts…are evil." Valerie whispered to herself, looking over at Danny. They didn't hear her, but they all figured things had finally sunken in with her.

"I hope the police don't get here before we figure out what in the world we're going to say…about…" Tucker started, but right then, before their very eyes, Cecelia disappeared. The body was gone. Some of them gasped in turn but they all jumped back except Danny. Danny slowly moved his hands through the air to feel if she had gone intangible for some reason, but he slowly stood up when he realized she was not there.

"She's gone." Danny said, astounded as the others began slowly looking around for any sort of clue. "You all saw that, right? I'm not going crazy from having held a corpse in my arms…right? Cecelia just…she…her body…well, _s-she vanished right into thin air_!"

_It came so fast…too late to save her_

_The strong will cry and do it now or later_

_The night will come and few endure it_

_Those who would last to morning knew it_

_So, dear, hold close and beware_

_All of these things that we share_

_This world has evils that will find you there_

_You'll lose yourself if you do not care_

_It came so fast…too late to save her_

_He wants to cry…but saves tears for later_

_Through all this pain and every hater_

_He still can fly and watches for her_

_He won't ever give up the fight_

_Nothing can end the search tonight_

_This darkness can't hide it_

_This world by his light is lit_

_It came so fast…too late to save her_

_He wants to cry…but saves tears for later_

_Through all this pain and every hater_

_He still can fly and watches over!_

_He wants to cry but his face is dry_

_Despite the pain he'll still go on, why?_

_This world has few who know what it needs_

_And even less, those who the facts heed_

_It's a mystery, where has she gone to?_

_If she came back, could she be saved, too?_

_It's horrible, the end that she met_

_And the world knows he won't accept it!_

**The End**

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**Please review the chapters of you enjoyed the story :D thank you everyone for all the support and making this story a success!**


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